And so it begins...

Over the past couple of months, I have been doing very well with my meal planning.  I have stayed on task and on budget and have maintained a healthy lifestyle.  With that being said, I haven't lost much weight. {Insert sad face here}.  If you would see me in person, you'd say that I look pretty good.  I think I do look okay, but which I could lose a bit around the middle and on my upper inner thigh.

A few years back a friend asked me to do the "Flat Belly Diet" by Prevention with her.  I looked it up and at the time, they were giving away your first 28 days free.  I did the Flat Belly Diet with her and became her accountability partner.  Because she was a lot bigger than me, she dropped the weight quicker than I did.  I didn't want to lose a bunch of weight, but at the end of the 28 days, I ended up losing 10 lbs.  It was nice to have a flatter stomach and I felt very good about getting into a bathing suit.  I kept the weight off for a while.  Summer came and went, but the fall came in with a vengeance.  I got busy with being softball mom and business and let's not forget about the holidays and holiday food!  That was almost 3 years ago. I have gained my 10 pounds back and every now and then, he likes to invite over a few more "friends" to the party.

Since I have been doing well with my meal plans and I have been more active, I decided that I will once again try this diet for 28 days to "jumpstart" some sort of weight loss for me.

Since I have decided to go through with this kind of late, I will not have a meal plan to put out this week.  I have to go through my pantry and figure out what I can make for dinner next week.  I'll be posting my Flat Belly Diet meals for the following week.  If you are interested in doing the 28 days with me, please let me know. I'd like to know how everything works for you.

Weekly Menu : 2/24 to 3/01

 

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This week we'll be eating Mexican style!  My family loves Mexican food and for the most part, it's fairly light and healthy option for me.  Here's our meal plan for next week!
 

Mon - Fajita Style Quesadillas + Spanish Rice
Tues - Taco Chicken Salad
Wed - Eat out! Lots of stuff going on this day.  Won't have time to cook.
Thur - Bean and Beef Burritos + Lettuce and Tomato Salad
Fri -    Shrimp Tacos + Black bean salad
Sat -   Eat out!

Thin Crispy Pizza Dough Recipe

I am in love with this Margherita Pizza recipe I found online last weekend.  I am very skeptical when it comes to pizza dough. I haven't had much luck with finding a recipe that truely makes a flat pizza.  A lot of dough would say to stretch the dough out, but I've always found that my dough was very elastic, I'd stretch it to the right and it would bounce back as I was stretching it to the left. This dough was super quick and easy.  Because I am terrible at reading ahead, I didn't make this 24 hours to 3 days ahead.  I made this the same day and just let it "rise" as my oven was warming up. 

The original recipe found here, says to mix then put in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, but if you can make it and store it for 3 days, it's even better when it has more time to "proof".  After a day or 3 in the frig the dough rises a little, but not much.

I purchased a pizza stone last year after I read many posts about it helping to make a nice crisp pizza. 

Here is the recipe that I used for Wednesday night's dinner.


Nice, Thin Crispy Pizza Dough Recipe
Adapted from Eat Yourself Skinny

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp. active dry or instant yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (*optional)
• 1/2 dried basil or oregano (*optional)
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water. 
2. In your stand mixer using the hook attachment, combine the flour, salt, garlic powder and dried basil or oregano, if using.  Scrap the flour down the sides of the bowl.
3. On a slow speed, drizzle in the olive oil until just combined with the flour.
4. Next pour in the yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined. 
5. When the dough has formed a ball on the hook,, take the ball off the hook and form back into a ball.
6. Coat a separate bowl with a touch of olive oil and place your ball of dough into the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in fridge until ready to use, at least 24 hours in advance.
7. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. 
8. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (or utilize a pizza stone if you have one) and get a bit of flour on your hands.
9. Start working your dough and stretch it into a long rectangle on your baking sheet, pressing with your fingers to finish forming. Your dough should be very thin. 
10. Top it with your favorite sauce, cheese and toppings

 
* Pizza dough is basically just salt and flour.  I like to add in a bit of garlic and some dried herbs for a bit more flavor. 
 
Printable Recipe

Meal Plan :: 2/17/2014 to 2/22/2014

I've been going strong with my meal planning.  A few weeks ago, I had a few issues, but I am back on track.  Now that I have my meal planner I can plan out a few weeks of meal at a time.  I have even gotten to the point where I can shop sales this week and plan my meals for the week or two later.

Here's my menu for next week.


Mon - African Sweet Potato and Black Eyed Peas Soup
Tues - Slow-cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes and Snow Peas
Wed - Homemade Pizza, side salad
Thur -  Italian sausage sandwiches, potato salad
Fri -    Shrimp and Broccoli over brown rice
Sat -  Grilled Ham and Cheese on Ciabatta

Meal Plan 2/10/2014 to 2/15/2014

The meal plan for this week (2/3 to 2/7) was a bit crazy.  I had somethings on the plan that could not be made because of time constrains with everyone.   I told my family that we had to start using the calendar so that I can plan our meals around the busy schedule. With the softball season starting up, singing in church and a host of over Spring-related activities that I hadn't planned for.

Every week I have managed to include one meatless meal in to my menu.  Cooking without meal is a whole lot cheaper than cooking with it.  I've managed to spend less than normal folks by cooking with less than one pound but the expense is still there. 

This week, I have decided on not cooking much meat this week. Last week my paycheck was smaller due to having two days off because of the snow and ice storms.  I've picked out recipes that use items that I already have in my pantry and freezer.   Yes, I know there is a holiday this week.  For holidays and birthday's I like to spend a little more, whether it's going out to dinner, or me preparing a nice meal at home.  This Valentine's day, I will splurge on a nice steak to serve my family.  I am big on spending a little more for food at a holiday or special occasion.  It's a nice treat for all of us.


Mon - Crockpot Minestrone Soup
Tues - Arroz Congri (Cuban Rice and Black beans)
Wed - Margarita pizza (pizza with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella)
Thur - Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese
Fri -    Rosemary Rubbed Rib-eye, Herb Roasted potatoes, Asparagus ( I LOVE asparagus!)
Sat -    Leftovers!

Do Something

A few weeks ago while driving home from work, I heard this song.  Most days my drive home from work is my time to unwind, and flush out all the "stuff" from the prior 8 hours.  While unwinding, I hardly ever notice what is playing on the radio.  This day was different, even though the music was low, I listened and  heard each and every word that Matthew West was saying.

The first verse goes as such:

I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how’d we ever get so far down
How’s it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”
Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do something?”
He said, “I did, I created you”

How often do we sit and wonder why God is not doing something to make this world a better place.  Lots of nonbelievers use this as their reason for not believing.  We live in a world full of so much hate that we as Christians have started to look to God and ask why He isn't doing something.

Last month, our churches message series was called "Make Life Work in 2014".  One one of the passages that had been said over and over and OVER again in each service was " Faith without works is dead".   God created us to do something.  He wants us to have faith that it can be done, but at the same time we are responsible for getting up and help Him to help us. 


Alright, enough preaching for me.  Go ahead and listen to the song.  Let me know what you think!

Meal Plan for 2/3/2014 to 2/8/2014

This week is pasta week!  I love pasta, my family loves pasta and most times, pasta is quick and easy to prepare after a long day at work.



Mon - Broccoli Rabe, Feta and Mint Pasta
Tues - Chicken Parmesan over Linguine (easy recipe, hope to document next week)
Wed - Homemade pizza
Thur - Chorizo Carbonara
Fri - Linguini with Tomatoes & Shrimp
Sat - Eat out...