A Little Garden Update

The garden is busy maturing and we are enjoying a few added goods to the family table. Peas are everywhere. 

I found a good sized cucumber and lots of baby cukes.

The green beans are ready but have to wait until later in the week for picking. We did eat green beans from the garden Frisay night, so yummy!

We have the hillbilly high tunnel, which is a greenhouse type structure except you plant directly into the ground. We have green beans, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and I started some new lettuce in there last week as an experiment to see how long we can extend the season with our high tunnel. 

What I Ate-Friday, July 17-Friday, July 24

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. 

Friday I drove down to youth camp to deliver pies for dessert and I got to see my kiddos, especially the one having a seventeenth birthday. 

What did I eat? 

Friday, July17

B- Fat Stripping Frappe book page 240- FP book page 

L- low carb tortilla turkey ranch wrap and celery with peanut butter -S

D- pork loin, salad and chocolate pie, yes, it was on plan - S

Saturday, July 18

B-THM pancakes book page 223 with berry sauce-E

L- Sam's pizza-off plan

D-chicken stir fry with frozen vegetables -S

Volcano mud slide with whipped cream -S

Sunday, July 19

B-THM pancakes and berry sauce and Moose sausage-E

Snack-peanuts and two slices of bacon-S

L-Bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed chicken, saluted vegetables-S

Snack-popcorn and fat stripping frappe book page 240- E

Monday, July 20

B-three eggs, two slices bacon-S

L-three pieces celery with peanut butter, cheddar cheese-S

Snack-almonds, peanuts and a square of chocolate-S

D-moose with Gucci gravy, cauliflower mash, salad-S

Dessert- snicker doodle in a mug-S

Tuesday, July 21

B-Fat Stripping Frappe(FSF) page 240 book-FP

L-Salad bar at Fred Meyer-S

Snack- almonds and dark chocolate-S

D-Grilled salmon and salad with ranch-S

Strawberries and whipped cream

Wednesday, July 22

B-Blueberry oatmeal-E

L-Carl's Jr. low carb burger-S

D-Grilled chicken and salad-S

Chocolate chocolate chip cookie in a mug-S, we add a tablespoon of cocoa to the recipe

Thursday, July 23 

B-Fat Stripping Frappe(FSF)book page 240- FP (can you tell I love these??? I use dark chocolate cocoa powder in these)

L-Bagel, yogurt, orange, grapes and cherries-E

D-Dreamfields pasta, red sauce, ground moose and Parmesan-S

Peanut butter whip-S

Friday, July 24

B-Pumpkin Muffin in a Mug-S

L-FSF-FP

D-Pizza Casserole book page 327 and green beans(from the garden!!!)-S

Oh, and today I made it to forty-eight pounds lost, two pounds away from fifty pounds and two-thirds of my way to my goal!!!

My Life with Trim Healthy Mama--What I Ate This Week

I can no longer avoid regular blogging about my life with THM. I introduce to you the "what I ate this week" series. I am not promising a certain day of the week until I find my groove. I also know myself enough to know that I cannot do a  menu of what I will eat but since I do keep a food journal I can post what I have eaten here.

*disclaimer: I have been home with only a six year old this week so cooking has been minimal. Probably not the best week to start sharing my food journal on the blog 

Also, it has been swimming lessons the week, thus the abundant fat stripping frappes for breakfast

Here goes:

S= satisfying, higher fat and lower carb

E=energizing, higher carb lower fat

FP= fuel pull, protein source that is neither high carb or high fat

Sunday, July 12

B- sausage, low fat moose sausage, and Dannon Triple Zero yougury-E

L- turkey, mashed loaded cauliflower, sautéed squash--S

Snack- popcorn and a Fat Stripping Frappe from the book --E

No journal recorded for Monday 

Tuesday, July 14

B- Pumpkin Muffin in a Mug--S

L- Silver Hills squirrelly bread one slice, toasted with 1 tsp. peanut butter, triple zero yogurt, 1/2 banana, mandarin orange and grapes--E

D- leftover turkey with sautéed veggies--S

Wednesday, July 15

B-Fat Stripping Frappe-FP

L-toast with PB, yogurt, Apple, grapes, mandarin orange- E

D-white turkey chili from the Coers Family  Blog- E

Thursday, July 16

B-Fat Stripping Frappe-FP

L-toast w/ PB, 1/2 Apple, grapes, mandarin orange--E

D-grilled chicken thighs, salad from the garden!!! and ranch dressing--S

86% dark chocolate

Always Remember

Take a picture with your children when heading out on a road trip

Get a picture going over the bridge at the Tanana River and where the Trans-Alaska pipeline also crosses the same river, even  when you have lived in Alaska for twenty-two years

Take pictures of the beautiful Alaska scenery, every trip

Stop and take a picture of the girls in front of the Rainbow Mountans

Take more pictures of the Rainbow Mountains

When stopped at road construction is a great time to eat a lunch consisting of a low carb tortilla wrap with lettuce out of the garden

Picking up the oldest son when the river is high and his employer shuts down the fishing charter for a few days is a great way to spend the day

Having all the Blessings at home is a really good thing 

My heart is full

All is right in my world...

...when all my children are under the roof for a few days. We picked up Levi from his summer job, which has shut down for a few days right before Levi goes to camp. Bam!! We get to spend time with him!!! 

I shall sleep well tonight.

Celebrating Early

Elisabeth will turn fifteen this week, sigh, seems like it was yesterday that she was born. 

We celebrated early at home with Dad because our the girls, Benjamin and I are cooking for a crew that will be at camp for a few days. 

Happy birthday my sweet girl! 

Benjamin decorated for Elisabeth and she helped him make party hats. 

This picture is blurry but I am still posting because I would not have posted a perfectly clear photo of myself taken from this same angle last year. And I even had a bad hair. I am thrilled with the changes happening to my body as a result of eating the Trim Healthy Mama way. And, no, I did not partake of the chocolate eclair dessert that Elisabeth requested for her birthday dessert. Judith made a yummy white cake with whipped cream for us. 

Twenty-two

Today is our anniversary, twenty-two years.

Us today

Us twenty-two years ago

Half of my life has been spent with this guy. We were home this week with only one child but friends invited him over so we could go out for the evening. 

I have lost forty-two pounds as of today. 

My husband took this picture of a bear, I mean me, at dinner. 

They say things get better with age and I agree that marriage sure does. 

It's All How You Look At It

Life, attitude, mindset it really is how you look at it. One can look at my garden picture below and choose to see only the abundant chickweed or one can look at it as I do and see the harvest to come, and the radishes that are ready to be picked and the lettuce that should be ready next week. I see plates, jars and freezer bags full of yummy, organic, home grown veggies.
This carries over to Trim Healthy Mama. Some look at how I choose to eat and see only what I do not eat. Some see deprivation, I see abundant food choices. You see, I avoid sugar now and I am more than fine with that. Cake at a fellowship, no problem because I have eaten abundant, yummy, filling food with no sugar spike and no weight gain. A baby shower coming up this week, no problem. I will eat an S dinner before attending and then I will enjoy a few snacks, but I am never deprived. Sugar and processed foods just are not my food any more. And, I am more than fine with that. There isn't even a pull to those things at all. For that, I am thankful.
Our summer has been hot, heat in an Alaskan summer means forest fires and forest fires mean smokey air. It isn't fun, but I am not going to complain about it. I am enjoying each clear day and each day that I can only smell a faint smokiness and see a distant haze, because it could be worse. I have enjoyed the warm days and soaking up the vitamin D and being hot, yes, even being hot because It isn't always the norm. Last summer was wet and very cool. Alaskan weather always keeps us guessing. Alaska living has taught me to be prepared and to enjoy each day and each season and each spell because you never know what is going to happen in fifteen minutes.
Now, excuse me, I must go get ready for whatever today may bring.

Summer

While parts of the lower forty-eight are getting lots of rain we are feeling the heat. Fires abound throughout the state and the forecast calls for another seven days of heat with little to no rain in sight. I may or may not be tan right now.

No pictures

This week has been one of ny favorites so far this summer. First off the first three days were spent at home. I did go to North Pole each day but that is a measly three mile drive. Secondly, much has happened around the house and we have had some down time at home as well. Third, after all the working and time at home we enjoyed an afternoon visiting with friends and then we went home and had dinner and headed to the local lake for some sun and a dip in the ice cold water. We had such a great day that no pictures were taken. Trust me, we had a great day!