A Few Tried and True

This post if for those of you who have asked for some good Weight Watchers Recipes. I am on my third week, and I am down 12 lbs. I have been cooking some new recipes - mostly because I like to cook, but also I have made new stuff because there are so many WW recipe out there that sounded good! Breakfast in the mornings has been oatmeal with brown sugar and maple syrup or fruit added to it. I recently discovered chia seeds, and I add a TBSP of them into my oatmeal, too. The chia seeds don't add any flavor, but they are a super food packed with great nutrition and they swell when they get added to liquid. They make you feel full longer. I haven't been hungry before lunch time since I started doing this.

A few great sites to find recipes on are:
http://www.skinnytaste.com/
http://www.emilybites.com/
http://www.laaloosh.com/

These are the ones that I often go to search for new WW recipes. I have created a board on Pinterest, and if you are interested to see what's on there, hop on over:
My Pinterest Board for WW

Here are some of my "tried and true" recipes. I will keep adding more as I find good ones. One suggestion I have when searching any recipe online is to read the comments. If multiple people have tweaked a recipe a certain way, I will go with the crowd and follow their suggestions.

Crock pot Chicken Santa Fe - this is one I have made for a while. I usually use it in those wraps from the last post and create a burrito with a little cheese, sour cream, avocado, etc. You can have 2 of these for very low points.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken - this is one that I make even when not on WW. I usually do it with fried rice, and I will be trying the cauliflower fried "rice" soon because the points are much lower than with regular fried rice.

Meat Lover's Pizza - The boys loved this one, too. This is a great one.

Chicken Tamale Bake - I tried this one earlier in the week, and it was good. I would add this into the rotation even not on WW. We had it with some Mexican rice.

Club Sandwich - I have eaten this for lunch with a pickle a few times, and it is a winner.

Bubble Up Enchiladas - I have seen this all over Pinterest. I took the suggestion of several people in the comment section and made the following changes: I added cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder to the turkey while it was cooking, subbed salsa for the tomato sauce, and cooked it all in a cast iron skillet for a one pot meal.

Bubble Up Enchiladas

Caramel Apple Fluff - This stuff is yum! The boys and I love it.

Coconut Mango Chia Pudding - I had a bunch of mangos and decided to try this. It was a good little sweet treat.

Salsa Verde Enchiladas - Okay, so I haven't made this one since I started WW back, but I have made it before. We liked it.

Southwest Egg Rolls - I used to love Chili's Southwest eggrolls, so when I saw this I knew I had to try it. I have made this many times, and I have made it to take to gatherings with friends. These little things always get eaten.

So there you have it. A few little WW recipes that my family and I have liked. I am trying to put some meals together from the Pinterest board for next month's meals. That way I can know what to shop for and have a plan on what to make.

Busy, More Busy, and Gettin' Skinny

Life with three is tiring business, folks. Not that I am complaining because I don't mean to do so. I am just stating a fact, but there is nothing in the world that I would want to do differently. These three little people keep us on our toes, and I am thankful for them even though I am sure I have more gray hair because of them. Nothing that a little visit to the hair salon can't fix :)

Tucker is two months old! How DOES that happen??? It seems like yesterday I was in the hospital and then, BAM! 2 months old! But he sure is cute. And sweet. And oh, so snuggly. He is starting to "talk" and smile. His little giggles are my favorite.

Such a happy boy

He looks malnourished, doesn't he? haha

 On February 22, Connor turned 2! Once again, how does that happen??? I wish all of you could hear this child talk. I have never heard a two year old that speaks like this one does. He cracks me up with the way that he pronounces every syllable and speaks in sentences. You really forget that he JUST turned 2. We spent his birthday at Oatland Island looking at the animals and followed it up with some birthday cake that evening.

 Just in case anyone was wondering, that isn't Connor's slice. I just bought a little cake square for us all to share. Nothing fancy, but he enjoyed it all the same. I decided with Jake to wait until he was three to have a big party, and the tradition will continue with Connor. I don't think he cared one way or the other, so we will save our money until next year and do it up right :)

They boys still love to talk to Tucker and "pet" him as they say. I love watching them play, and I realize that it won't be long until I have three wild boys running around the house.

 



I decided to start Weight Watchers again since I have had success in the past after Jake and Connor were born. I had lost back down to pre-baby weight without doing anything. Well, without doing anything except taking care of a newborn and chasing two toddlers - haha. I decided that since we are officially done having babies that now is the time to kick it into high gear and get down to "fightin' size." Yeah, I have no idea what that really means, either. I just want to comfortably get back into clothes and feel cute again. I love WW because I like rules and guidelines and plans. I need a "map" of sorts, and this works for me. I never feel hungry, and I don't feel like I am dieting. It becomes more of a lifestyle change than a diet that I won't stick to doing. The worst or hardest part is the planning. It takes time, and I don't have a ton of extra time these days after taking care of the kids. And it works. If I did something where I didn't see results, I would stop doing it in a minute, but I lost 5 lbs the first week. That, of course, will drop to 2 or 3 lbs a week now, but that first week is always where you see a big drop.

 

I have tried some new recipes, and I try to find things that Jason and the boys will eat as well. Some recipes I make I make to stretch out over several lunches and dinners and eat in different ways (in wraps, over rice, etc). One new thing I have tried is crock pot chicken taco chili. It was pretty good. I ate it over rice, and then I made a wrap out of it with some cheese and salsa for a quick lunch. It is 5 points plus for a serving size of 1 1/4 cups. Not bad... I also tried gooey pork chops and garlic cauliflower mash. The pork chops were good. The cauliflower mash was a weird texture but it tasted like garlic mashed potatoes. I guess I like smoother mashed potatoes, so if you like your taters chunky maybe it won't be so weird. I love these wraps:

They are only 1 point a piece, and you can find them at WalMart. Another snack fave is the 2 point pumpkin muffin. My friend, Lauren, made some for us when we had Tucker. The boys love them, too. The recipe is a box of spice cake mix, a can of pure pumpkin puree, a little vanilla, and a 1/2 cup of water. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Yep, that's all. I usually bake for 20 minutes, turn off the oven, and let them stay in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. They are a great snack or breakfast item. We also throw in some butterscotch chips, too. As long as you keep it to about 1/2 cup, you don't change the points. My new favorite low point dessert are these:

2 Points Plus per muffin! They are yummy, too. It's the same concept as above except you use devil's food cake mix, 1 can pumpkin, 1/2 cup water, and about 10 T or 1/2 cup chocolate chips and bake for 20 min at 350. They really hit the spot for a chocolate craving. And at 2 points plus, I can have several throughout the afternoon and not feel bad about it.

 

I will share new recipes that I like since I have some new ones to try in the upcoming weeks. The boys are napping now, so I might join them. Jake just called me to his room to ask me to help him snap his pants. He proudly informed me that he had just gone to potty, and had pooped and wiped all by himself. Well, son, I am happy for your three year old, independent little self. I am not so happy for this Mama who has to discover later if you actually wiped well enough... On that TMI note, I will sign off for now.



 

 



Cake Pops

Today's first attempt at cake pops proved to be a successful one. Since they really were easy, I thought I'd share the how-to's. I found this on Pinterest and knew I had to make it:

I have read the directions on how to make cake balls before, and they were on my Christmas cooking list one year before I trimmed down the list. Here is what you will need:

• Boxed cake mix, any flavor (I used 2 boxes)
• Canned icing, any flavor (I used one whole container and about 1/4 of another)
• Candy coating (like Wilton's - I used one small tub plus some from a bag)
• Lollipop sticks
• Floral foam
• Shortening (like Crisco, optional)
• Sprinkles

Okay, so you bake the cake according to the directions on the box and let it cool. Crumble the cake into small pieces and mix in the icing, a little at a time. You are going for a consistency that will allow you to roll the mixture into formed balls. The thing that kept coming to mind was truffle consistency. Roll out your cake into small balls or whatever shape you want. You don't want them to big too big or they won't stay on the stick. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.You aren't freezing them, you just want them to firm up. In the meantime, heat up the container of candy coating according to the directions. Mine came in a plastic container, and I heated in the microwave. Many of the tips suggested added a little shortening to the coating in order to thin it enough for easier coating. I did add it to mine - about a tablespoon or two to make help the consistency. Take your cake balls out of the freezer. Dip your lollipop stick in the coating and then push into the cake pop. Let it set for a second or two then dip in the candy coating. Make sure to tilt container and swirl pop around. Then you want to tap the cake pop on the side of the container to remove excess coating.  Next, use sprinkles to decorate and place in floral foam to dry. Voila!

*If your cake balls start to have trouble sticking to the stick, you either need to reheat coating or place the cake balls back into the freezer for a few minutes.

*If they fall off from the start, they may be too large.

*I used 2 sizes of sticks, and the shorter, fatter sticks were easier to work with. I saved the long, skinny sticks for the smaller cake balls.

*By no means am I a perfectionist when it comes to baking, so the sprinkles helped cover up any craziness on the cake balls :)

I bought an Easter basket from Wal-Mart for $1.97 and some Easter grass to finish off the look. I made sure my foam fit into the basket BEFORE placing the cake balls in the foam. I loved the look of the grass, but when I went to Michael's today to get some, it was $5.99 for a tiny little section. I would have spent about $30 in grass alone. Uh, no, thank you. I used strawberry cake mix and cream cheese icing for these, but I am already envisioning all the possibilities for flavor combos. Jason "sampled" the leftovers and proclaimed them a success. Jake had so much in his mouth that I believe he said they were yummy.

For instructions that are perhaps better than these, check out this site.

Sun-dried Tomato and Chicken Penne & "Special Ladies"

Okay, so WAAAY back when I did my first batch of freezer cooking while I was big and preggo with Jake, I made this chicken penne. I picked it because it made 2 pans of food, was really freezer friendly, and you didn't have to thaw it before cooking if frozen. I recently made it again for a friend who had a baby, and I was reminded that I thought the original recipe was kinda bland. Martha Stewart usually doesn't let me down. I think maybe this was a "fresh outta prison" Martha recipe and anything that wasn't prison food was yummo. Okay, I made that up. Anyhoo, I made it again today for another new mom. I read the comments and found one lady that said the same thing, but she fixed it with the addition of some extra stuff. It was so much better. It made one pan to give away and one for dinner for us. Woohoo. Win-win. Also, it isn't a ton of ingredients. However, if you are watching your waistline, stop reading now. If not, here is the link.
I added basil (about 1 Tbsp), more sun-dried tomatoes, real bacon pieces, probably more cheese than called for in the recipe, and some salt (which you really need). I can't find a block of provolone, so I bought a package of Sargento provolone slices and sliced them into pieces. The sauce is thick - probably because of the extra cheese. Jake stood over me and yelled "cheese" while I took this pic:

Along with the meal for the new mom, I made these little mini cheesecakes. I made these a few nights ago for a ministry at church called The Sunshine Girls. I made some with cherry pie filling and some with caramel ice cream topping and mini chocolate chips. Jake came into the kitchen while I was making them asking, "Whatcha doin' Mama?" I told him I was making some food for some special ladies. He replied, "I be special yady, Mama. I want one." How do you refuse? So, he downed two mini cheesecakes and was happy. Today, I made another small batch. I gave Jake one of those, and he said, "Yum, special ladies." So, the mini cheesecakes shall be called Special Ladies in our house :) They are super easy and use mini-nilla wafers for the crust. If you make these, be not to buy the cheap pie filling. The cheaper ones have more "filling" than fruit. Click here for the recipe. Here is a picture of my Special Ladies.

Not the most figure-flattering menu on Earth, but every once in a while, a special lady or two five won't hurt you ;)

Paintin' Possums

We are officially recovering from the flu around here. Well, Connor and I are recovering from what has to be the world's mildest case of the flu. Poor Connor came down with a fever of 104 last Tuesday, and we went to the doctor for a confirmation that yes, indeed, we had flu. After the initial fever, he was really okay. There was a lot of snot and such, but otherwise he played like normal. On Wednesday night I realized that he had shared the love with me. A few Motrin later, and we were all back on track. Thankfully, Jake and his Daddy were spared the joy. Today we went on a much needed outing.

We traveled over to Oatland Island to hang out for the morning. I told Jason that it was "Operation Wear Out Jake." Well, when your 2 year old tells you on the way home that he is tired and wants a nap, you, my friends have completed one successful mission :) Oatland is great because there are 2 miles of trails with animal exhibits along the way.This January day was cool this morning but was nearing 70 degrees by the time we left at lunch. Jake walked and Connor rolled along in the stroller while we walked about. The bear exhibit was closed, so we brought our own.

Do you see these eggs?

Well, by the time Jake sat on them he had seen a cougar, 4 bobcats, some foxes, cranes, and a hawk. This child continued to talk about these darn eggs for the next half hour until we made it to the barnyard. You seriously never know what they think will be cool. I was afraid we had driven out to Oatland for an egg sculpture to be the highlight of the trip. And then we visited the barnyard area. Well, hallelujah! We found some things cooler than eggs. On a side note, he later said they were dinosaur eggs when he talked about them, so I guess that gets a few more cool points, huh?

We hit up the barnyard, and we made all sorts of friends.

The turkey was really loud and scared poor Connor to death. Jason had to escort him away from the talkative bird while Jake oohed and ahhed over it. The "tur-tey" was a huge attention hog, so he thought Jake was quite fabulous and gobbled away. We saw a few other animals, too.

There was an area outside of the main building that had 2 turtles that were roaming, a bunny in a pen, and an opossum that was painting. Yes, you read that correctly. It was a paintin' possum. See:

Now, Petunia the Possum (not making this up, either) was painting away in the shade. Now I don't know who first thought, "You know what would be cool? Let's slap some paint on that there possum's tail and let her paint." But who am I to judge art? Apparently, Petunia is a sort of family pet to one of the workers at Oatland. That alone gives me the heebies. Possums don't exactly say cute and cuddly to me, but to each his own, I guess. I just know if need to come up with a name for a team anytime soon the Paintin' Possums sound like a sure-fire winner, don't ya think?

Right before we left, Jake and I sat in the back of the car and had a little picnic while Jason and Connor strolled to the dock to watch the dolphins. If we had known there were dolphins to watch we would have joined, but all was well.

It was a great morning, and both boys enjoyed a LONG nap. Success!

So the last post was about crockpot freezer meals. I could not have been more glad this past week that I did those. With us having flu, it was so nice to prepare food with minimal work. I did say I would review the meals. Here is what we have had and what we have thought:

Honey garlic chicken: Ehh. That is the official review. This just didn't do it for me

Mongolian beef: This was good, and Connor gobbled it up

Meatballs: I didn't expect much from this one, but the boys ate it, and it was better than I thought it would be. It would be much better with homemade meatballs.

Chicken Caccitore: This is a good one. We have had it before. Served with a little fettuccine and freshly grated cheese. Yummy.

Those are the ones that we have had so far. I will end this post with a little dessert. This is an oldie but goodie. I made it for small group a few weeks ago, and Jason wanted to know why I had never made it for him before. First of all, Jason isn't a huge dessert person, so if I make dessert I end up eating it myself or throwing it away (yeah, right). I wish I were a better food photographer because this doesn't do it justice, but then again, it isn't the prettiest dessert known to man. Trust me when I tell you it's good.

Butterfinger Cake

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix (prepared according to directions)

1 large container of Cool Whip

3 Large Butterfinger Bars

1/4 Cup caramel ice cream topping

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Prepare cake according to directions in a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake. While still warm, poke holes in cake with the end of a wooden spoon. Pour condensed milk over the cake and then follow with the ice cream topping. Let cool and spread cool whip on top. Top with crushed Butterfinger candy bars. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to let everything soak in. YUMMY.

The Daily Grind

If you had asked me 5 years ago if staying home and being a mama 24/7 would be hard, I would have laughed. I am not laughing anymore. Comments made from moms with careers that tend to veer toward that direction get under my skin as well. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that it is easy having a career and being a mother. That has its own set of challenges. However, just because stay-at-home moms don't bring in a paycheck doesn't mean we aren't working. The hardest adjustment to life as a stay-at-home mom has been the lack of social interaction. For those who know me well, you know I would talk to any and everyone if they will carry on a conversation. That is what I loved about mother/baby nursing. The patients were well for the most part, they were happy, and they liked to chat. The lack of regular adult conversation is killing my brain cells. For reals...

I am enjoying everyone's pictures of fall around the country. However, I am totally jealous of your sweaters, scarves, and hot chocolate sipping selves. Here in Savannah, GA, if I attempted to put on a sweater, a scarf, and sip some hot chocolate, I would no doubt wake up in ER after being treated for a heat stroke.One day this week it was overcast and the high was around 70, and this girl was ready to break out the fall clothes. But, oh no - the next day was back up to 80 degrees. These pasty white legs need some covering, but I can't do that until the temperature drops. I will just be excited for some days in the 60s, at least.

We have not left the house at all today which is something of a miracle for me. Usually, I find some reason to venture out, but I didn't have the energy today. We are now on about a week of napping in the big boy bed for Jake. He opens the door and yells for me when he wakes up. Although he wants you to know he is up, he doesn't REALLY want to get out of bed, so he calls for me, then pats the bed and says "snuggle". Well, how do you say no to that? So, I climb into the little twin bed and my little man throws his arms around me and snuggles for another 5 to 10 minutes then is ready to take on the afternoon.

I did make some strawberry banana bread today for the family. I had all the supplies here, and used this recipe. It was yummy. I took a small bite slice because it is not in the diet plan.

Even Connor wanted to get in on the tasting.

Jake wandered over for a slice, as well. Here he is with his "mean look" and his "million dollar smile". Bet you can't figure out which is which.

We did venture to the playground this afternoon. It was a perfect afternoon to do so. Jake loves to tell you which direction to go, and trust me, the boy knows how to get to the playground. So there was a lot of "iss way" (this way) on the stroll. Here are some pics from the playground today. Love these boys.

This bush attracts butterflies. This is a slow afternoon for butterfly traffic and it is still packed with them.

We recently learned to hang

Ready, set, GO



Lying in the bubbles in the bathtub

So both boys have been tucked into bed for over an hour now, and as I sit looking at what I have typed and at these pictures, I am filled with love for my 2 munchkins.  I look at those two little faces and realize that my job right now, although not exciting, is the most important job I will ever have.

Calling the Sandman...

The Lowe household is finally on the mend. It's a good thing, too, because this Mama was about to lose her mind. Last week, the exhaustion had set in, and one day I told Jason I thought he was going to have to order me some meds. Haha. A week later - still no meds - but I do feel MUCH better. Let me say that I cannot function for more than a few days without sleeping well. I'm not nice, and it's not pretty. With everyone in our house sick, it was just BAD. Connor had been sleeping in the pack 'n play by our bed since he was born. It made life much easier when I was breastfeeding, but the time had come for him to be somewhere else. Jake hasn't made the transition to the big boy bed yet, but believe me, it's coming soon. A few nights ago, we moved Connor into the closet. Okay, trust me when I tell you this is okay. My bedroom in college was smaller than this closet. His little part even has a window and his monitor and a nightlight are plugged in right beside him. Then, we made the decision to let him "cry it out." Connor has been a great sleeper, but after being sick, he got stuck waking up around 4. If I put him in the bed with us, he went right back to sleep. However, this woman doesn't really want to share my bed with anyone other than my husband - okay, well and the dog that is sort of grandfathered in to the bed. Night 1 went okay, and he cried for the better part of an hour which is a LONG time. Night 2 got us about 20 minutes of off and on crying then he was back out. Night 3 got us no crying at all. I will digress for a moment on a soapbox. Some of you might have been wondering where "the old Akisha" has been. If you continue reading, you'll see that I'm still right here ;) The "cry it out" method is not for everyone. Trust me, if I hadn't worked for so long in the nursery listening to crying on a daily basis I don't know if I could have attempted it. However, I am a much better mother when I have sleep so with Jake, I was willing to try anything to get some sleep. It sucked for a few nights, then it was totally worth it. If you can't do it, I completely understand, but for us, a few nights of crying is a good trade for nights of peace after that. It's one thing to say that you can't stand to listen to your baby crying and a whole other matter to say that the "cry it out" method is going to cause your child harm. If you think for one moment that crying is going to cause your child to be handicapped, I will say it now. You are an idiot. Plain and simple. Don't bring me your "research". I can show you just as much research that says otherwise. Now, children who are left to cry and are neglected do suffer damage, but a night or two of crying off and on is simply not the same. There was a girl I met here who seemed cool at first, and then she posted study after study on Facebook about "crying it out", the family bed, etc. Look, I don't care what you do, but don't try and tell me that because I am doing something that you disagree with that I am harming my child. This chick got deleted because a) we were not going to be friends and b) don't attack people simply because it is not what you would do. If anyone even had an opposing opinion, it was like she fought harder to prove her point. Now, I don't doubt that she was doing what she thought was best for her children, so show me the same respect. We agree to disagree. If what you are doing works for you and your family, then it's cool. What I do know is that while she was tossing around in a bed with 4 people, I was sleeping.

Okay, no more soapbox (at least not for now). We had people over last night, and it was so nice to have people here. Even though there were 2 couples besides us, we had 4 children all between 4 and 6 months old and 2 kiddos in the 2 year old + range. Cuh-razy. Oh, and they were all boys!!! It's our own little baseball team. It will be neat to see the boys grow and be buddies. I have been buzzing around the house for the last few days finishing up a few things, cooking, and cleaning. This morning, Connor woke up around 5:45. I got up to feed him, and that little booger went back to sleep. Of course, I was awake by then, so I did a few things around the house, and by the time I was finished Jake was awake. I don't know if it was craziness or bravery, but I decided to take the boys to the pool. It took about 20 minutes just to gather children and supplies.

• children - check
• pool key - check
• carrier for Connor - check
• bouncy seat (because he sweats like crazy in the carrier) - check
• camera (who knows when cuteness will happen?) - check
• towels, sunscreen -check
• life vest, water shoes for around pool - check
• diaper and clothes for after swimming - check
• bottle and formula because feeding time will probably occur while at pool - check
• burp cloth - check

Are you tired yet? Soooo, I lugged all that to the pool, unloaded the children, and hung out for oh, about an hour. Then Jake saw the slide next to the pool on the playground and it was over. I put Connor in for a few minutes, but apparently C likes his water about bath temperature and he cried. So it was back to the bouncy for Connor. Here are the boys at the pool.

The pool sits right on the intercoastal waterway and the view is beautiful.

The "cool cat" got his glasses on for the ride home. I told Jake he was a cool cat with his sunglasses on, and he meowed. Now, when he puts them on, sometimes he will meow because he wants you to tell him he's a cool cat. Even upside down, he is stylin'.



We came home and Jake had to jump in the shower while I showered. He ran around and splashed water. This from the same child who, moments before, had cried to get out of the pool. Then, we Skyped with Gammie, ate lunch, and the boys went down for a nap. All before noon... Anybody else need a nap? This Mama is about to hit the sack, myself. I heard Connor a second ago, so I may be snuggling up with C and coaxing him back to sleep, as well.

Before I sign off, I will share a quick recipe. I made these cinnamon rolls the other night. They are from Southern Living's "Almost Homemade" cookbook magazine.

Okay so if the road to skinniness is a narrow path, these are somewhere in a ravine at the bottom of that path, but they were yummy. Screw getting skinny this week. Maybe next...

1 c chopped pecans

1 (16 oz) package hot roll mix (I used Pillsbury and found it above the flour in the grocery store in a blue box)

1/2 c butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 c powdered sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Bake pecans 5-7 minutes until fragrant and turn once. Prepare hot roll mix according to directions on package and let stand 5 minutes. Roll dough into 10x15 inch rectangle and spread softened butter on top. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and spread on top of dough. Top with pecans. Starting at one end, tightly wrap dough. Cut into 12 pieces. Place pieces into lightly greased 12 inch cast iron skillet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth, free from drafts for 20 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes. Stir together powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk and drizzle over hot rolls. Dig in!

Now, with all that being said, I'm off to visit my pillow.