You know when you really want something and you tell yourself you will do it??

That was me last night.

I wanted to wake up at 6 am and get my workout on.

And in order for me to do that I had to hit the hay sooner ! 😕

So, Lights were out @10:15 pm

I slept GREAT and none of my kids came looking for me, so that helped get a good night sleep

😊

When I can get up early my day just starts off better.

No its not easy, I almost stayed in bed longer, but once I was up... and sweating there is no going back.

Make it a good Monday 

3 Day Refresh

Menu Planning : How to plan accordingly

I think menu planning can be some what torture. I only do it 2xs a month, and you know we have to eat- SO WHY is it so frustrating and dreadful ?? 

But, here's what I have learned! That when I do sit down and take the time to write down my meals, than it becomes a NO BRAINER and my life has just gotten a lot easier. 

Well, I truly do feel blessed that I can go grocery shopping and tomorrow the day has come again for me to do buy fresh produce and veggies. So, I want to give you some tips and encouragement to overcome these feelings of ugh ! 

FIRST GO GRAB A PEN !!!!

Step 1-

 If you are NEW to menu planning, know that all this is going to help you feel more organized and SAVE MONEY ! 

When, you have exactly what you will be eating on the calendar or  written out, and it could be beans and tortillas or breakfast night this GIVES you freedom to not stress about it ! 

And who doesn't like to save money! I for one love to save money. Why buy tofu to let it sit there in the fridge. Buy ingredients that you will know you will use. Anytime I have thrown food away think about how much it was - .50 cent for that bell pepper sure doesn't seem like a lot, but over the week it sure does add up !  So plan accordingly!

Step 2-

 Check your freezer and pantry. Start by looking to see if there is meat that needs to be eaten or food in the pantry that you use up. Ground beef with spaghetti noodles would make a great dinner- and say you are just missing tspagetti sauce. Well write it on your list. 

Step 3-

Now start writing the days that you will be eating. So you can be very specific and write down each day that you need to eat or you can just write out the number of days.

For example - I like to meal plan for 2 weeks, I could write my meals like this 

Thursday : Spaghetti 

Friday : Egg sandwiches 

Saturday : Eat out

Sunday : Grilled chicken 

Or simply write out 

1-Spaghetti

2-Egg sandwiches 

3-Eat out 

The 2nd option is less strict and gives you more freedom to say I am eating out today on vs the scheduled day example Saturday. 

Step 4- 

Now LOOK at your ads and see what foods are on sale and a great deal! And write it down ! 

So if you see chicken on sale then look for some meals that would incorporate CHICKEN and stock up. I like to pay around 1.69 per pound for my chicken.

Step 5-

 Add some meatless meals !!

Yes, not all your meals have to include meat and you can still be full and happy ! 

I try to add 1-2 meals that are meatless a week which not only cuts back on cost, but allows me to use FRESH veggies ! 

These are 4 simple and quick ways you can implement TODAY !! 

If you are still stuck as to making your meal planning schedule try writing down what your family ate. And then if it was a healthy meal make sure to place it in your rotation. 

Hope this helps! 

I would love to hear, do you meal plan ? How often do you go to the grocery store ? 

Dried Apple Chips

It's apple season !! Can you smell the apple pie, taste of hot apple cider and those apples donuts - ( I know you want some - shoot those sound good RIGHT now !!  - YUM -O !!

Well,  if you get an overabundance of apples like I was fortunate to have, than you can crank out some yummy apple chips that your family will love !

I have another batch going on at this precise moment, but this time I am using a dehydrator !! But, never fear ! You can use your oven and still create a wonderful snack to take on the go !

Step 1 - 

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees

Step 2 - 

Peel... peel ... peel ... your apples ( I feel a song coming on - if you must... GO peel a banana - ha )
 I used a peeler, or if you are good you can use a knife !
OR ----- if you have one of those nifty little dandy peeler, PLUS spiral cutter THAN YES use it !!

But, if not you can use a mandala cutter- I used the one on a cheese grater and it worked great !

Try to cut them evenly as possible, this ensures that they are cooking at the same rate.

Does that ALL make sense ?? Peel the skin off and slice those apples evenly.

Step 3 - 

Arrange them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. This means no spraying the pan and adding extra stuff to your apples. You will want to make sure that you have arranged them evenly apart. Or place them on a dehydrator evenly apart. 

Step 4- 

If cooking in the oven place them in for 2- 3 hours.  You will want to take them out halfway and FLIP them over .  After you have pulled them out at the desired crispness you can enjoy them right away or let them cool and then enjoy later! They did not last long in my house, and loved to gnaw on them myself ! 

Give them a try ! You will love them ! 

Basil pesto - with secret ingredient - KIDS LOVE IT

I asked my 10 year old son for his input on what he wanted for dinner. Well, I asked him to help me plan the dinner for the week. Because if I am going to cook, than I might as well make sure they enjoy it as well !

And one of the recipes that he requested and which I also love is the Avocado Basil pesto over chicken.

Seriously, this recipe takes like no time, but tastes so so yummy. I love how it includes spinach and avocado.

Here are the ingredients

- 1/4 cup Basil
-2- 3 cups of Spinach
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- Salt ( I prefer to use pink Himalayan salt )
- 1 whole Avocado
- 3 garlic pieces ( more if you like it spicy )
- Parmesan cheese approx 1/4 cup
- and 1 cup of water from the cooked noodles that you will cook

Toss it all into the blender and let it go !!!

My measurements were all to my taste, so add and remove as you like!

Once all blended up I poured it over my pasta and added my chicken !

Served it up and they ate it up !!!

Black Bean Brownie Recipe

I'm all for moderation when it comes to my diet! Which means if I want to eat something yummy I will dive in and take a bite!!

But, I know all too well that if I eat too many treats than those treats will go to my waistline, cause me to break out and cause my energy levels to get low!

So, finding new healthy treats to satisfy my sweet tooth definitely perks my interest !

I had made black bean brownies before, but I wasn't too impressed!

So I decided to try AGAIN !

This time I took some of the suggestions that were provided in the comments section of the All Recipes website.

And here is what I made

Ingredients are as follows 

-I cooked black beans and used approx 15 oz
-3 eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
-1/4 cup apple sauce
-1/4 cup cocoa powder
-3/4 raw sugar or any sweetener
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- Dash of salt

I tossed it all into my Blendtec and pulsed it until smooth and creamy.

After it was all done I poured it into a baking dish that was 8x8 size greased with butter.

Baked at 350 for 25 mins and then let them cool

They turned out bitter, BUT still a pleasant yummy surprise! Especially for something that has BLACK beans!

My youngest calls it cake :)

Glad that he ate it and couldn't detect the black beans!

I did enjoy some warmed up cake with a scoop of  vanilla  :) Super -YUM !!

Meal Prep - Doesn't have to take a lot of time or money !

I went to Sam's Club earlier this week and purchased a beautiful looking salmon. It cost me 14 and change for about 2 lbs or so. 

I came home and cooked it for dinner for our our family of 5. 

I measured each piece on the food scale 3 to 5 oz. I gave my husband a 5 oz one. 👍 I served it with brown rice and steamed broccoli. 

And I still had 5 pieces left over . I packaged up 3 of them so they would be ready for meals. Now my husband and I both have lunch ready for tomorrow. Bonus because I cooked once, and I am able to bless my family with a quick and healthy meal and not break the bank !! 

I know eating out is convenient, but when it cost 6 to 10 bucks that sure adds up !