The last of Fabulous in February

Thank you Hope for hosting fabulous in February and for your fun fashion photos for teachers. I have been posting 3 things I like about myself every Monday in February. It's hard to believe that February is over.

March is our crazy month. I turn 30 (YIKES), my husband turns 32 and my son turns 3!

So here are my last 3!

1. I like that I am in tune to people's feelings. I really try not to hurt people and I think I am good at recognizing when I need to go to my students who are feeling down.

2. I like that I was able to have 2 all natural childbirths. This was really important to me and many people told me I might not be able to do it. I never once faltered on this and never asked for drugs. It certainly wasn't easy, but in my heart-of-hearts I knew it was what was best thing to do and it was one time in my life where I really felt like I had accomplished something that meant a lot to me.

3. I like that I am conscientious. I want people to see me as someone who does well at whatever I am doing. I am currently taking a graduate course and I am always the first one to hand things in. I am not a slacker in anything that I do. (except maybe exercise :o).

Well, That was pretty good. I managed to come up with 12 things total. I guess I am not so bad. I might even be fabulous!

What I refuse to sacrifice....

Let me start this post by saying my husband has lost over 40 lbs since November!

Amazing right? He looks great and feels great and I am so proud of him. How did he do it? Well, the biggest thing he did was that he left a job he hated. This was a major decision and probably one of the best things he could have ever done for us. He owned a construction company and it was such high stress, long hours, hard work. He was so stressed and had no time for himself. When we found out I was pregnant with our second child, we knew something had to give. Now he is a stay at home dad and works at various odd jobs when he can. I am also a teacher with summers off, so he will be working during the summer.

I bring this up because I really believe that to be healthy you often have to change your life and sometimes the changes and sacrifices are big.

Did I like the money my husband brought in when he had his own business? Sure.

Would I rather have a husband who is happy, healthy and will grow old with me? Absolutely.

To be able to do this we have had to sacrifice. We are now a one car family and I am sure that loading the kids up every morning to drop mommy off at work will have its not so wonderful moments. We don't go out to eat. I have had the same pairs of jeans for like a bazillion years. I almost never buy something just because I want it.

But we are now healthier than we have ever been. We function as a family unit and we are happy.

But as I think about all the big and little things I am happy to sacrifice for the sake of our emotional and physical heath, it is also funny to think of the things I just will not give up.

So here's my list.... What are you unwilling to sacrifice????

1. Coffee, and yes it is sad that this is number 1. I did not drink any the first half of both pregnancies. But I seriously love it. I like the taste, the smell, the caffeine kick. Along with this I need some kind of sweetner in my coffee. I am still at a loss for how to clean this up to my liking...but I refuse to drink it black.

2. Cheese. I love cheese. I could not be a vegan and my cheese needs some fat. This was reconfirmed when I tried skim ricotta last night. Part skim is as low as I can go.

3. Meat. I would love to challenge myself with a vegetarian diet for a month. I love me some veggies, but I don't think I could do it as a forever thing. Maybe I could if I still could have fish. I do try and have at least 2-3 meatless meals a week, but beyond that..I don't know.

4. Family trips. I would rather go on a random weekend trip than have a new wardrobe any day. And even though we are cutting costs, I will not sacrifice my desire to bring my kids to new places.

5. Butter or margarine for my steamers. I live near the ocean. In the summer we eat steamed clams and if I am going there, I need something to dip them in.

6. The Internet. My son is allowed to watch PBS cartoons. The Internet is what I do when the latest exhilarating plot of Curious George does not entertain me quite enough. Plus I have nursed one baby for a full year and will still be nursing my second baby for 4 more months. It helps me pass the time when they eat. Not to mention I really just need it for my job. Come to think of it, teachers should get free Internet.

7. Mascara and tinted moisturizer. I don't need some fancy pants brand...but something needs to hide my exhaustion.

8. My beach sticker. It is 60 bucks for 2 years and I need it. As I said I live in a beach town and the beach is the only reason I suffer through these long winters.

9. Yoga Pants. I love yoga pants. I wish I could afford some really nice ones (lullulemons???)...but most of the cheapies are fine. I work out in them. I wear them to bed. I wear them to mommy and me classes. I buy new ones when old ones wear out. I like the champion brand from target just fine.

I'd love to round this out with a 10th, but I can't think of anything else.

I've emerged from bed...

The good news,
Even after our party I am weighing in at 141 lbs.

The bad news,
Having the stomach flu is probably why I weigh this much.

I was seriously ill. Thank the good Lord for my husband. It is moments like that where I just cannot imagine how single/ military mom's do it. My own mama was a military wife. My dad would go off on air craft carriers for months at a time. She had no family near by. I have no idea how she ever functioned when she got sick or even how she ever washed her hair. God bless the mamas who do it on their own.

Well I have reemerged and feel much better. last night I finally ate a real meal. It was nothing spectacular, but I was dying for comfort food.
I went with Trader Joes turkey meatballs
wheat rotini
tomato sauce (I call it cheat version of homemade)
and fat free ricota cheese (YUCK! I usually get the part skim version, which is sooo much better and worth the few grams of fat)

Want to know what "cheat" homemade tomato sauce is?

I get two can of organic diced tomatoes with herbs. Shaws has a nice orangic version that includes herbs.
I use a sauce pans to heat a little bit of EVOO (extra version olive oil for those who do not enjoy Rachel Ray). I usually just do one circle around the pan.
I add 3 cloves of pressed garlic to the EVOO. If I am out of fresh I use the frozen cubes of garlic I buy at Trader Joe's
I saute the garlic for about a minute or two.
Then I add the two cans of tomatoes. if I have it, or if I am in a cheesy mood, I add a 1/4 of Parmesan.
Sometimes I add extra fresh oregano

This is soo good if you like thin sauce with  chunks of tomato. I hate the canned sauce and I hate how processed it is and how much sugar is added (seriously, look at the carb content on Ragu)

Want to make it even cleaner. Use your own tomatoes and herbs. I only do this in the summer when I have a huge tomato garden and more time. Or use jarred tomatoes, which are better then canned.

Coconut black beans over warm Asian chicken salad.

Okay, I do realize that this has suddenly become a food blog, but when I come up with a new recipe I NEED to share.

Here is tonight's Dinner. I have no idea why I paired these two things. For some reason it just sounded good together, and it was.

The coconut black bean recipe was not my own. You can find it HERE. I did modify somewhat. I did not have whole chili's, so I added Cayenne pepper powder instead and I added extra Cumin and some Tamaric. I also used light coconut milk instead of the full fat stuff (canned Trader Joes). If I made it again I would use only about 8 ounces of the coconut milk instead of the whole can.

I did NOT add the mango and avocado because I knew I would put it on the salad.

Asian salad:
Ingredients:
Sesame Seed oil
2 Chicken Breast
2 whole leeks
1 whole or 1 bag of white cabbage


-Heat about 1.5 tablespoons of sesame seed oil (cold pressed) in large skillet or stir fry pan
-Add in 2 cut up chicken breasts (I prefer them cut into strips) and brown until almost fully cooked
-Add 2 cut up leaks. I like to slice the leeks in half and then cut into 3 pieces. Add leeks to chicken and oil and stir until they appear soft.
Add 1 whole cut up white cabbage to the pan, along with 2 more splashes of sesame seed oil. I buy the precut/ prewashed organic bagged cabbage and use the whole bag.
Sir mixture for a few minutes until cabbage is lightly cooked, it should still be firm.

Divide salad onto plate then top with black bean mixture.

****If I made this again I would add cooked plantains to the black beans. Then it would have been PERFECT!

Oatmeal is boring you say? Try this...

Okay, I admit it, I am food obsessed. The eating clean change has really made this even more apparent. There is nothing more enjoyable to  me than finding a really healthy, but really tasty food. Now, as most of my readers know, I was never a HORRIBLE eater, but I certainly over-indulged in some bad things (eating a half of a pizza was no strange occurrence). I refuse to go back to that. Instead I am channelling my love for food onto new things.

So most healthy people know that oatmeal is a top rated breakfast. I think oatmeal is okay, but I don't LOVE it. However, I have started a new love affair with overnight oats.
If you have not tried overnight oats, you should. It is easy, filling, healthy and fun. You make it the night before and you can get creative with it. if I was to compair it to something it would be a really high quality bread pudding or an oatmeal/ frozen yogurt like dessert.

You can do this in many variations but here is the general idea:
-In a small bowl mix together

-1/2 cup oats (I use steel cut or rolled oats or quick oats)...they CANNOT be instant, and instant oatmeal is not that great anyway.
-1/2 cup non-fat or low-fat yogurt. You can use any kind. I usually use plain non-fat greek or low fat vanilla
-1/2 cup low/ non-fat milk. I typically use unsweetened vanilla almond milk, skim cow's milk or vanilla soy.
-a swirl of honey or maple syrup
-1/2 a banana
-1 sprinkle of Cinnamon

Cover and put in fridge overnight.

When  it comes out you can mix in other toppings. I like walnuts and flax seed.
Instead of banana you can use any type of fruit combo. You can also mix in a spoon of nut butter (I like sunflower, almond or peanut) instead of the honey.

Mix it up! you can put in anything you want. You can also skip the yogurt and use twice as much milk.

Need extra protein? Add a scoop of protein powder.

I personally like to eat it cold. But I know some people warm it up, or let it sit at room temp for 10-15 minutes.

Really good stuff!

What's for dinner?

Here's my back on the wagon clean dinner:

*4 oz Ezekiel Protein Pasta
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, diced
1/2 Red Onion
1/2 sliced red pepper
1/2 container of fresh mushrooms
1/4 wheat flour
1 egg
1 package firm organic tofu, cubed
1 tblspn crushed red pepper

Place tofu on paper towel covered tray and put more towels on top, place in fridge for 1 hour (gets all the water out)

Boil water for pasta

Heat 1/ 2 the olive oil and stir fry all veggies until golden brown and remove from pan.

add the rest of the oil into empty pan and heat on med-high

Crack egg and lightly beat

put all tofu in egg to coat

roll tofu into flour and place in oil.

Brown lighlty on all sides of cubes

Drain pasta and divide onto two plates.

Add veggies, tofu, and crushed red pepper and lightly toss.

Enjoy.

* Ezikiel Pasta is a bit of a different taste and it needs a lot of flavor added, hence the red pepper. You could also use brown rice or quinoa and it would be just as good. Here is a link to the pasta:
http://www.foodforlife.com/our-products

Fabulous in February, week 3

Thanks Hope, I am going to try and dig deep for this one.
3 MORE things I like about myself...........

1. I like my teeth. I had braces, and retainers for a bazillion years BUT they are now straight. I have always been very good about my oral hygiene and I do not have cavities. The dentist is always amazed by how healthy they are. And for my age and coffee habit, they are pretty white.

2. I like how I parent. I feel like I am a good balance between laid back/ fun and strict. I value healthy habits, but I also love laughter. I am not upset when my son makes fart jokes, I laugh when he sings songs about his bum BUT my kid knows how to say please and thank you and I hold him to appropriate behavior standards and expect both kids to eat healthy and get exercise.

3. I like that I can cook. I am no chef, but I can whip up decent meals in a jiff. I experiment and usually things turn out pretty good and I am not opposed to trying out new things in the Kitchen. I think I keep my husband pretty well-fed and people seem to eat all my food at parties. I have become a bit of a health food junky and know how to make many meals from the super food/ clean list.