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striving to radiate Him always

Less than 15min

by Filed Under: EPLifeFit, Work-outs 3 Comments

I completed my first official workout of the new year.  I’m taking it slow and using the easy days to concentrate on form.  I’m a stickler on form.  Dad worked out with me.  I trained Rose later in the day and the Littles will do their work-out at their daily park visit.  (I hope to be back with some pictures.)

  • warm-up
  • 10 squats
  • 10 push-ups
  • 10 sit-ups
  • stretches

things you won’t find in my fridge or pantry

by Filed Under: The List 3 Comments

I had managed to complete a major purge at the start of my family’s journey.  Dad and I did not want to battle our will or the wills of our children.  It was the best move that we could have made.  The kids knew what was available and nothing was off limits.  Dad and I were not tempted to fall back into bad habits during our late night date-nights.  We were able to successfully detox, having all the processed foods out of the house. 

All was going great in the home,  until Christmas.  Dad and I let down our guard.  We catered to the requests of others, not wanting to impose our changes on them.  We allowed the junk to slowly creep in.

Another purge was in order.  My pantry and fridge will never be the same.  You won’t find anything that would be considered a sugary food, includes ingredients that we don’t recognize,  or food with items we can’t pronounce.  The following is an abbreviated list of items that have been eliminated from my pantry and fridge.

I hope to do a better job this year to completely eliminate these items from my children’s diet while outside the home.

Alcohol (aside from the bottle of wine we use for cooking and the bottle of wine that we purchased on a special trip.)
Bagels
Bread
Breadcrumbs
Buns
Candy
Cake
Canned beans
Canned fruit
Cereal
Cheese
Cheeze-Its
Chips
Coffee creamer
Corn
Cottage cheese
Crackers
Cream cheese
Dried beans
Flaxseeds
Frozen fries
Goldfish
Milk
Oatmeal
Pasta
Rice
Whole grains

Post Christmas Day Detox

by Filed Under: Holidays, My Journey 4 Comments

We failed miserably this Christmas.  I crumbled under family pressure.  Let’s just say, some of our extended family are not on board with our recent lifestyle changes.  Many have expressed concern for our  “deprivation” and they have voiced their dislike for our new food dishes.  So when it came time to create the Christmas dinner menu, I buckled.  I resorted to some yummy dishes that were once our favorites.  One day wouldn’t hurt us, right?  Wrong!  One day has affected us in more ways than we could have ever imagined.  There have been stomachs, headaches, mood swings, cravings, tiredness, and other unmentionables.  We’ve all experienced an all time low.

Still, we give thanks to the Good Lord for allowing us to fall short this Christmas.  This step back has given us a much needed boost to move forward and continue with a new lifestyle change that is counter to what we have known and are currently surrounded with.  It’s not easy to eat clean when we’re trying to accommodate the desires of others or our flesh.  We must keep our eyes on Him and continue down the path that He has led us, a path of eating clean—to glorify God.

Let the detox begin!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Filed Under: Cookies, Dessert, Recipes Leave a Comment

Rose surprised us with this sweet treat.  She is finding peace with our new lifestyle now that she has realized that baking, occasionally, is still an option.

cookies_thumb1

Prep Time: — | Cook Time: 13 min. | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 24 small cookies
INGREDIENTS:
  • 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 8 tablespoons refined coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup dark chocolate (or semi-sweet) chocolate chips
PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:
  • Whisk the coconut flour and the baking soda together in a med. bowl.
  • Mix together the coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl.
  • Add the the dry ingredients into the wet, mix.
  • Add the dark-chocolate chips.
  • Bake at 350 for 13 minutes.

The consistency of these cookies are a bit flakey and soft. However, they are a fine replacement to the traditional version.

Shepard’s Pie

by Filed Under: Beef, Dinner, Recipes 1 Comment

It could have gone bad.  Dad was gone all day with Rose and Baby G kept me busy.  We spent the day celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe.  The girls had another ice indoor-soccer game. 

ice soccer day 2

I’ve been here before, it was once a typical pizza night.  I prayed for the graces to fight the urge to order a take-n-bake pizza.  I decided just to make some ground beef.  I figured I’d be inspired once I started to cook.  Sure enough, I planned on making lettuce roll tacos.  I checked the fridge and saw the potato soup (made with coconut milk and carrots) that I had made on Friday.  (It was a splurge for us.  In hindsight, I should have made sweet potato soup—next time.)  The potato soup lead me to recall the Shepard’s Pie recipe that I found here.  I modified the recipe and put together the dish before dad got home and we dashed out the door for soccer.

shepard's pie v2

I popped the already assembled dish into the oven when we returned home.  Everyone showered and got into warm jammies while dinner baked.  It was perfect timing.  So long pizza night!

The dish was a warm and soothing meal on such a cold night.  Everyone enjoyed it.  Papi had seconds. 

shepard's pie

Here is the original recipe from Wellness Mama with my alterations.

 

Ingredients for Healthy Shepard/Cottage Pie:
  • 2 (or more) pounds of ground beef, turkey or other meat
  • 2-3 heads of cauliflower or 3-4 bags of frozen cauliflower 3 cups of left over soup
  • 1 bag of frozen mixed veggies (no corn! It’s not a veggie!) – 3 cups of Kirkland Normady Style Veggie Blend
  • 1-2 onions I was  too lazy to add the onions.
  • 1 egg
  • Seasonings to taste (I used natural beef bouillon, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and a little cayenne) garlic and all the spices that I could reach
  • 3-4 Tablespoons of butter
  • 4 ounces of cream cheese (optional) 2 ounces to thicken up the left over soup
  • Cheese to top (optional)
How to Make Healthy Shepard/Cottage Pie:
  1. Brown meat in large skillet and season to taste when cooked. Set aside.
  2. Saute diced onion in skillet until somewhat soft. Set aside with meat.
  3. Pour mixed veggies in the skillet to heat on low heat and in the meantime…
  4. In large pot, boil several cups of water. Add cauliflower, cover, and cook until soft enough to mash.
  5. Remove the pot from the heat, pour off the water, and add butter and cream cheese to the pot.
  6. Add spices and mash. (I use a hand blender to make it really smooth)
  7. Mixed veggies should be cooked by now.
  8. Mix the meat, onions mixed veggies, raw egg and any additional seasonings and put in bottom of 9×13 baking dish.
  9. Spread mashed cauliflower soup mixture over it until smooth.
  10. Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes.
  11. Add cheese and bake 5 additional minutes (optional).
  12. Serve warm (ore reheat later)

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