Hey! Where's My Feet?

It's review time kiddies... if you know me, you know two of my most favorite things are bacon and vodka.  You top them with a hefty helping of carbs and we're good to go... now I'm really not so sure how I feel about vodka being in my sghetti sauce, I'm just a little skeered about my food tasting like alcohol.  Bacon on the other hand... let me at it! So there I was cruising the aisle's at Meijer when what do my wandering eyes see... BACON & PROVOLONE Sauce!!!!!!!!!  I give it a woot woot and jumped across the aisle to grab a couple jars - best part, they were on SALE!!!  We put it to the test last night... Bacon & Provolone Spaghetti night was a hit.  The kids loved it, mom ate it but didn't divulge feelings either way.  I however, always have a feeling and an opinion about stuff so here's the low down... It's good.  Different, but good.  It didn't (or at least I didn't tase any) really have much of a bacon flavor per say to i

That little four letter word that will drive you insane... DIET! Yeah yeah yeah, I know... you've heard it all before.  There's a fad diet around every corner you turn and I've likely tried every single stinkin one of them!  The grapefruit diet, cabbage soup diet, Atkins, HCG, Apple Cider Vinegar, Dukan etc... Well a month or so back I was reading the Reader's Digest and there was a wonderful article about this diet that the Editor had devised and wrote a book about.  How she'd spent years and years compiling and researching what works... yeah, right - skinny thing that she is knows all about trying to lose weight.  And of course there were success stories involved to insprie the uninspired - like me. What the heck, none of the others have worked, we'll give this one a whirl.  Of course in the Reader's Digest they didn't give details - you have to get the book.  To the library I went... they didn't have it, all the interlibrary resources had it c

Well now it appears as though I haven't posted anything here in an extremely long time!  Holy cow, how does that happen?  I know it had been a while but APRIL!!??  Certainly I've tried new recipes & gadgets since then... geez, what a slacker I am!  But in my defense, I moved in August and now my internet time is VERY limited so that's part of the lack of posting but what about the 4 months prior... ?? So let me just sound off about a little sumpin to get this blog restarted... are you ready to rumble!? At the end of August I took Baby Girl school shoppin for some new clothes... she was starting in a new school, one that doesn't require uniforms like her last school, so she pretty much needed a whole new wardrobe - yeah, that's not happening in one shopping trip! Can I just say, I was a little disgruntled with the attire I found available for her age group of 5-6 yr olds.  I thought I had traveled back in time to the 80s!!  Don't get me wrong... I absol

... SNAP Fitness that is! Joining a gym is something I've been wanting to do for the longest time but always had a reason, or excuse if you will... probably more reason than excuse though.  Well with our recent move to Northern MI, I am closer to family thus I have someone (many someone's if need be) that will watch the kids while I get my sweat on!  My wonderful cousin Krista has been working out and eating all healthy like for probably a year or so and is rockin it out on weight loss - you go girl!  I know she's always had good things to say about SNAP Fitness so I thought now was the time to step it up, they're open 24/7, no contracts and reasonably priced - one of the several reasons I had yet joined before.  Then there's Kasey, she's been rocking it out too this year with getting all healthy... she has equipment at home which would be my ideal set up but I think we all know I have no will power and I need to have my ass drug to the gym or it ain't ha

It’s review time!   I was at the store a week ago and saw these “Energy Blasts” by PowerBar® on clearance!   Of course at first I thought they couldn’t be to good if they’re on clearance – right?   Right… kinda.   I bought ‘em anyway cause I figured it’d be a good “healthy” work snack for when the munchies creeped up on me. The box describes them as gel filled chews… really?   They’re bland gummy drops with a pea size goop of red stuff that tastes nothing like raspberry.   While still edible, not exactly a gummy bear… though I will finish off the box, so I guess they aren’t completely horrendous.   The thing that get’s me though is their “claim” of being “energy blasts”…. I think they forgot to add the energy.   Granted I’ve only had one serving/pouch but still… oh wait… it says they are for use before or DURING moderate & high intensity exercise.   Oops… I know I’ve been slacking on the work out stuff lately but has it been so long that now we’re supposed eat/snack DURING a

Just over a week ago I was at Rudy's BBQ in Leon Springs TX feasting on beef brisket and the best tasting cream corn I've ever had!  I knew I wasn't going to be able to get any safely back to MI with me so I took it as a challenge to figure it out and make my own version.  I'd tried making cream corn once before like some character did on one of those cooking shows but I didn't have the patience... and being that today was a lazy day - it was cream corn by crock pot! Now I don't know if this tastes like Rudy's because I don't have any Rudy's immediately available for comparison but I will tell you... this turned out to be some damn good cream corn if I do say so myself!  The secret ingredient (thank you Danette for the tip) is cream cheese.  I knew I was gonna have to "cream" it up but wasn't sure what to use and I'll be darned if the cream cheese wasn't it!  The hard part came in getting the ratio right, which I didn't b

BACON! BACON! BACON!  Who doesn't love bacon?  They have Bacon Camp, Bacon Fest, Baconaise, bacon makes everything better!  The basic low down... bacon is cured meat from several cuts of a pig.  If you want more history on bacon you can check Wikipedia or just Google it... cause this here ain't about to be a term paper on bacon.  I just wanna share my love of it and the latest recipe experiment I tried out... BACON JAM!!!  That's right, I said Bacon Jam.  Of course I first came across this mighty invention via Pinterest... did a little research, checked out several recipe versions and decided on this one here... Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces 2 medium yellow onions, diced small 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 3/4 cup brewed coffee Directions In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high, stirring occasio

Normally I make these things with a pound each of ground sausage and ground beef but since I've been trying to eat all healthy and what not I decided to change it up a bit.  Of course you know it's going to involve chicken, because apparently poultry is the almighty meat of healthy eats and you know what else that means... the queen of canned chicken has once again risen to the occasion.  MmmHmmm Like always, there's no measuring involved... just dumping with love.  What you'll need is.... 2 12.5oz cans of chicken drained, rinsed and shredded 1 can of bean sprouts 1 medium onion 1 pkg of tri-color coleslaw mix some Chinese 5 spice Teriyaki sauce/marinade Chop up your onion fairly fine... saute in a LITTLE olive oil and or butter... actually you'll need to add quite a bit of one of those because you won't have the drippings/grease from the sausage/beef I normally use.  Anywho... saute that up, mix in the bean sprouts and chicken like this here... B

You've all heard about the toning shoes right?  There are MANY versions and brands out there but I believe the first to arrive was by Skechers  aka Tone Ups... A wonderful product that promised to tone and firm your tushie... riiiight.  I was fairly skeptical about the whole idea of them, so being that they were always so expensive I wasn't crushed about having to live with my jigglin rear shelf ... then Reebok came out with EasyTones, and the knock off's started appearing left and right - even Avon has their own version!  Well I eventually broke down and bought a pair of Reebok's version, because I'm a Reebok girl! I had ordered them online so when they finally arrived I was super excited to get walking and firm things up!  UGH... I don't know if it was the fact that at the time I had a bone spur in my heal, or that my hips were out of wack or maybe combination of both but after that first short walk I was ready to die... I was pooped!  I didn't know

Yesterday we took the kids to the Toledo Zoo , it was our first time going, it was a last minute decision, and of course... it was darn near 100 degrees out!!!  No, seriously, I have a picture of a thermometer to prove it!  I don't think we took in all the zoo probably had to offer and the heat played a big part in that... it also played a big part in my motivation today.  Two hours walking around in the heat yesterday was still affecting my legs today... and of course, the entrance in and out of the zoo was up hill... up then down to get in, up then down to get out.  WTF were they thinking when they designed that?  So now of course because I was a lazy slug today, all that exercise went for naught. Started out the day nice and fresh at 6:00am to go do the weekly grocery shopping... it's so much nicer shopping when there are minimal people to contend with, not to mention when the kids are still at home sleeping.  Soooo... when I got home I was created by my little devils

And by "alert" I mean, don't waste your money!  I'm always on the look out for new and healthy snacks so when I happened across this little "gem" I thought I was about to cross over into Heaven... that's what I get for thinking! It's a wholesome wholegrain cracker with pumpkin seeds and cheddar cheese, how can you go wrong with that combination right?  Well the good Doctor seriously needs to have his medical license revoked for this sick and twisted joke.  Just one bite is all it took to realize what I was really eating is a piece of cardboard infused with cheddar and pumpkin seeds... at least I think those were seeds and cheese.  So for this connoisseur of all things food, healthy and not so much... I give it a big two thumbs down!

I know I know, what an abrasively harsh title right?  But it's true, like I said yesterday - I'm not full of shit!  So here we are on day 3 of this 5 day cleanse and nothing's happening... quite the opposite actually.  I'm normally quite regular and the last couple of days its been minimal if anything at all.  That can't be good can it?  I suppose on the bright side, I wasn't feeling bloated or weighed down either.  Well today started out just like the other 2, with the exception that I had it in my mind that today I was going to eat - and oh boy did I eat! Seriously, if you think about it... if you're not putting anything in, than nothing's going to come out, right?  Right!  Thus the theory that I just wasn't and am not full of do do.  I mean I was putting a LOT of fiber into my body, you'd think SOMETHING would be just a rollin' out of me.  I'm talking about 40+ grams of fiber a day!  To my knowledge women over 30 should be getting

Still going strong and doing better than I thought I would... of course I've also been keeping myself busy so I haven't exactly had time to think about food.  There was however at one point where I did indulge in some beef jerky - what?  How do you pass up jerky?  To me, it's better than cake! Seriously though, I've been following this plan and doing what it says and honestly - I'm just not seeing the results I thought I would by now.  Or just maybe, contrary to what most believe... I'm just not full of shit!!  hahahaha  I know this is going to get a tad TMI, so walk away now if ya can't handle it... With any detox or cleansing program I personally am lead to believe that you'll be spending a lot of time running to the pooper.  Not so... at least not yet, and not for me.  Seriously, I thought I'd be having the poops or at the very least, needing to blow the toilet up more than normal.  Turns out it's quite the opposite... I'm a rather &qu

You've all heard about detoxing, colon cleansing, etc. right?  There are tons of different methods and cleansing kits out there, once upon a time I even tried Colon Blow - the name was just so funny I couldn't NOT try it!  Well anyway, the other night I decided last minute I was going to try the Young Living 5 day Nutritive Cleanse .  Now if you know me even just a little, I like LOVE to eat!  Food is my crack, I just love the way it tastes all yummy in my mouth, Mmmmm.  I've been in a diet rut lately and figured this would be good to get things jump started again... and of course I choose to start on a weekend where we have a Super Moon AND Cinco de Mayo all at one time!  Seriously what was I thinking? Why should we do a cleanse?  To rid our bodies of all that compacted waste in our colon and bowels, not to mention to clean out any toxins that may be lurking.  Our colon's primary function is to absorb nutrients and water into our bodies and help rid the toxins (so

Here we are back to Sunday again and I'm due for another Sinday Confession... I know you're all going to be surprised when I tell you, I haven't sinned at all this past week!  Hahahaha... no really.  Ok ok, I do have a "sin" to confess but I've been holding this "recipe" for 3 days now and I want to get it posted first.  yes, I've just been THAT busy that I haven't been able to sit and share this with you.  But I think once you see what I made, your mind is going to start racing with endless ideas like mine did!  Oh and by the way... a page has been added to this here bloggie blog... you'll notice the tab up top that says "Disclaimer" - go on ahead and give it a look see... it's important info that I wouldn't want you to miss out on. On to yummier things.  So I was craving a BBQ chicken pizza, but #1 I'm a tight wad and didn't want to pay $10 for one and as you know, I'm trying to eat healthier and while ch

It’s time for Sinday Confessional… yes I realize it’s not Sunday but someone was being a computer hog yesterday and since they were also folding laundry at the same time, I thought it best not to disrupt him.   So here we are, now let’s get down to business! One day while grocery shopping I saw that they had chicken in a can and thought ewww, then thought about salmon in a can, again ewww.   I was completely grossed out without even giving it a chance… just the thought of it gave me the heebie jeebies.   Wellll… this busy working mom of 2 was finding that trying to eat healthy, make actual meals for dinner etc. was just becoming a pain in the rear and an easier way had to be found… after thinking about it and how I eat tuna & spam and how they come from a can, why not give chicken a chance.   So here’s my Sinday Confession… I eat chicken from a can, and I like it!   I almost always use it where I can now in place of having to thaw and cook and actual chicken.   Of course you can

Yes, I know I said I was going to be better about blogging my weight loss adventure this time... well I'm going to say it again, so what about it?  I've decided to blog about new healthy recipes that I'm finding & trying and maybe even a line or two here and there about how that darn workout just kicked my butt! The thing I can't decide on though... do I share the recipes as I found them, or as I made them?  If you've spent any large amount of time around me in the last 10-12ish year you'll know that I don't to often follow recipes to the "T" - I use them as a guide and go from there, making everything to taste and rarely measuring a thing... unless it has to do with baking of course.  A lot of my improvising is due to not having a certain product or not wanting to spend top dollar for an ingredient I'll likely use just once. Up first we have... TEXAS CAVIAR !!! The recipe as I found it... 2 T chopped fresh cilantro (2 T r

The new healthy living festivities have begun!  So far so good and I'm quite amazed at how my will power has been holding out... usually there's a HUGE fight between my body and my will power, I'm sure you can guess which one usually wins.  Well not this time... the house is stocked with "good for you" stuff and I kept myself fairly busy this weekend to keep my mind off shoving stuff in my mouth.  It seems like I was on my feet in the kitchen all day Sunday, prepping the goods for the week... getting meals together and what not.  Roy has even joined me in this venture... it's going to be a little harder keeping him on a plan because he works crazy hours, but I think we can make it work with a few adjustments. I came across a recipe for roasted spaghetti squash and had to try it!  Of course I didn't follow the directions exactly, seriously, who does that?  I took a picture of my creation that I'll have to add later but basically what I did is... roast