That One Person

I've started and deleted how I was going to begin this post more times than I ever have on any other blog entry and maybe it's because I'm having a hard time putting in to words what I want to say.  Maybe it's because the love and motivation and inspiration from one single person that has never left my side since the day I met her leaves me speechless.

You've all heard me brag up my amazing man and my amazing friends that I've met during my journey throughout the years and how much all of them mean to me.  You've heard me talk about trainers that came and went and who I never really connected with, but before all of them was "My Tina".  When I met Tina, I didn't WANT to meet her.  I'd already become slightly attached to the owner of the amazing company she is a part of and I didn't want anyone else and I was skeptical.  But after my first class with her, she took my hand and never let go.  Sounds cheesy right?  I know I know, yes it does.  But every step of the way of losing the full adult I've lost she has been my biggest cheerleader and she believed in me when not another single soul did (including myself).  If you've been following me awhile you know I've referenced her before.  Hearing her in the back of my head telling me I CAN do this and that "you can do anything for 1 minute".  I've heard her when I was running telling me to push harder and pump my arms and on and on and on.  She likely has NO idea how she's affected my life and who I am as a person.

Tina and I have been planning some athletic photo shoots for her (I'm a photographer too) and I can't tell you how excited I am for her to choose me to capture these for her.  You see, Tina's had her own journey and she's suffered and struggled and came out of all of it a stronger, better person and for me to be able to capture the amazing strong woman she is today is a profound honor to say the least.  During our planning and searching for inspiration for these shoots, I mentioned how much I miss her and how one of my long term goals is to get my NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) certification in personal training and how my dream would be to open a gym or atleast offer services similar to TWC in my area (I'm currently a good hour and a half from TWC - Cambridge), because there is just not anything like it down here.  Sure there are gyms, but most of them are hole in the wall 24 hour gyms with mediocre trainers who have little or no real life experiences.  I want to make a difference in people's lives and I want to be the one to help people achieve their goals, no matter what they might be.  I don't want the muscles heads or the elite runners.  I want the moms, the grandmas, the women who don't see themselves as anything but the title that's screamed at them by a 2 year old.  I want the women who have lost themselves in being what everyone else needs them to be and want to rediscover themselves through a healthy lifestyle.  THAT my friends is what I did and what Tina helped me do.  I completely changed my life.  So some phrases I read via text today were: 

"You know, you have forever impacted my life.  You are such an amazing lady."

And when I attempt to credit my success to her: 

"Your successes are ALL you!!! I just believed in you...you did it all on your own!"

"I will forever be your biggest fan, no matter where you are."

Yup, I bawled.  Here is my role model, my idol, my inspiration telling me that *I* changed HER life....wow.  Just wow.  

All I can say is that I am so incredibly grateful for her and all that she has done for me and I can not wait to hug the crap out of her when I get to see her in March.  And yes, I bawled like a baby!  It's still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that *I* make a difference in anyone's life and that *I* inspire people.  I'm just being me and apparently there are people out there that think that's pretty awesome!!!  Who knew that giving up TRYING to please everyone else and giving up TRYING to be perfect would make SO many people happy.  I've learned that I'm pretty damn good at being me and that's all I ever want to be.

Honest Kids

So I shared something funny on my FB page the other day, but I felt the need to add a disclaimer.  I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with being healthy, etc.  Well here you go....

"Forgot to share a funny that happened yesterday morning. I'm making breakfast and izabella said "you're changing mom" and when I asked her what she meant she said "remember when we took your challenge pictures because you wanted to see what chanted when you eat healthy? Well your tummy is getting smaller!" Yay for honest kids lol. And before anyone says anything about what I'm teaching my daughter about body image let me say that yes she asked why I would take pictures when I started a challenge and I simply told her I was eating super healthy and was curious to see how my body changed. We talk all the time about how healthy food helps us FEEL better, helps us be less cranky, helps us fight germs, etc. we NEVER EVER talk about healthy food making us smaller!"  

As I received responses NOTHING like I expected, I felt like I needed to elaborate (or maybe I'm just overly passionate about this topic)

" I have ALWAYS said that I will NOT make my daughter feel bad about how she looks....EVER! I can not tell you how much my own personal vision of myself damaged who I was as a person all through my childhood and teenage years and I do not EVER want EITHER of my children to feel like I did, so I am VERY careful what I say in front of them. And to be completely honest, this journey of mine is not about getting thin or looking like a super model or getting to a weight that a group of drs who don't me think I should be at. This is about me being healthy and getting to spend as many years with my children as possible. My past has already likely dwindled those years and that breaks my heart, to continue to knowingly subtract more from that time is just plain selfish. I have NEVER referred to myself as "fat" or "needing to lose weight" or "ugly" or ANY of that. I have always said I'm working on being as healthy as I can be so I can run and play and do sports and all of that with my kids. That's all that matters to them anyway, why would I phrase my view of myself in such a way that they would care about anything superficial? Sorry, this is a VERY touchy subject for me and probably will be something I'm ALWAYS passionate about. And in return for focusing my energy on my kids and how they think and the kind of people I want to raise them to be....it has improved my self esteem tremendously. I started out this journey of mine to get smaller, but this far in....it's just not about that anymore. It's not about the jeans size, it's not about the numbers on the scale and in fact, if I slip back in to that old way of thinking, my anxiety escalates, because it's NOT a fair standard."

The responses I got on FB were astounding.  I fully imagined people to shame me for teaching my daughter to recognize this about me (or anyone) when it wasn't at all me teaching her.  It was just her honest little self making an observance and it happened to be in regards to how I looked to her.  My kids tell me all the time when they like how I look.  "I like your hair today mom!" "You're the beautifulest mom ever" and on and on and on and maybe that's because they hear me compliment other people, maybe it's because I tell them how beautiful they are when I think they look extra great on a particular day.  Maybe it's because I'm raising genuinely good people.  I'm not sure but either way I'm proud of what and how I teach my kids about eating healthy.

In fact, just now my daughter walked in from school and this conversation just happened....

Izabella: "Can I have some candy from my Valentine's bag"
Me: "What do you think about that?"
Izabella: "As soon as I have something healthy first"

....and she pulled out some carrots and hummus from the fridge and is happily snacking away.  I'm not hear to brag or be a show off about my kids or our life or eating habits, but I know there are a LOT of people that struggle with how to get their kids to eat healthy, so I'm just sharing what I do to try and help.  Even if it's only one person I help, that's enough for me!  In fact, here is another conversation that happened after I posted a picture of a dinner we made this week (grilled flounder topped with avocado and roasted garlic broccoli on the side).

• ok - I know my kids are younger than yours (1 and 2) but how in the WORLD do you get your kids to eat this!

  February 17 at 7:41pm · Like
• 

  Rebecca Ausmus #1 - my kids have always ONLY eaten what is for dinner. They don't get anything separate except on special occasions or if I'm making something spicey #2 - I have ALWAYS stressed how important healthy food is. They've just always grown up eating healthy food and it's either eat what moms having or wait until the next meal to see if you like that better lol. #3 - they help when they want to. #4 - I put them in control of choosing what's for dinner. "Should we have chicken or fish? Broccoli or cauliflower? Steam the broccoli or roast it?" My kids looooooove garlic roared broccoli and I've learned how to prepare different things they like (season fish with taco seasoning instead of lemon pepper). Zak opted out of broccoli tonight and ate THREE huge fillets of fish, izabella had about as much on her plate as I did and ate every bit of it. It may have helped that while dinner was cooking we made fudge bombs to have after baths 

  February 17 at 7:49pm · Like · 2
• 

   I have to get better about #1

  February 17 at 7:52pm · Like
• 

  Rebecca Ausmus That's the biggest thing most parents do, honestly. They don't want to listen to whining and feel bad about letting their kids be hungry, but this isn't you leaving them hungry, this is about kids being in charge of making a decision. If their decision is to not eat what is for dinner, then that's their decision and there are consequences to that decision.
•  
• 

   Becky, I had the same rules with my kids. 
  My dinner tonight... seasoned cod topped with avocado, asparagus, cucumbers & tomatoes and sliced apples. Yummy!!

  

  February 17 at 7:57pm · Unlike · 1
• 

  Rebecca Ausmus And of course I don't MAKE my kids eat anything they don't want to, but they can fill up on other healthy choices that are already being served, like Zak eating more fish and no broccoli. I would NOT however let him have more bread or other non-essential without having a sufficient amt of healthy options, but we don't get in that battle often. Because it's not often there is anything but clean healthy choices for meals.

  February 17 at 7:59pm · Like
• 

  Rebecca Ausmus Tina great minds think alike and so pretty!!!!

  February 17 at 8:00pm · Like · 1
• 

   Do they ever not want anything that is on their plates and therefore don't eat? I tried this once with Charlie a few weeks ago and he didn't eat anything for dinner.

  February 17 at 8:00pm · Like
• 

  Rebecca Ausmus Yup. Sometimes. And an hour later I hear "I'm hungry" and I say "I'm sorry you feel that way, well have breakfast in the morning". No snacks or treats or anything for kids who don't eat healthy dinner. It doesn't take too many times of that before they learn. And it's not going to hurt them at all to go to bed hungry once in a while.

  February 17 at 8:06pm · Like
• 

  thanks for the motivation

So there it is!  All of the kid vs healthy eating talk you can handle for one day!  Enjoy!

Happy Hump Day!

Lessons Learned

This morning as I woke up knowing I was going to be on a "field trip" of sorts for work I packed a healthy lunch bag including an egg and sausage sandwich with the cheesy biscuits I posted earlier this week.  Also a bunch of fruit, some celery sticks and my beloved granola combination.  On the way to said field trip, traffic was HORRENDOUS (thank you MN weather) and I thought sure I was going to be late, so I snarfed down my banana and granola while driving....it was messy lol, but I made it work.  I arrive to the field trip only to find out I didn't have to be there until 9 and it was 10 minutes to 8.  Needless to say I had some time to kill, which I spend depleting the battery on my phone while surfing Pinterest for new and exciting Paleo recipes. 

The demo started and the whole while I was easily satisfied with water and the banana granola combination I had on the way in.  All of a sudden a Pot Belly parade began.  First came the "Box 'O Sandwiches", then the deluxe salads (with bleu cheese) and the cookies.....ooooooh the cookies!  I had NO idea they were providing lunch and while I knew I should eat the lunch bag of goodies that was tucked away in the fridge, I didn't.  I said "What the hell", filled my plate with the AMAZING salad they offered and chose an oil/vinegar based dressing, good choice right?  Yup!  Well then a "Wreck" (sandwich) mysteriously ended up on my plate.  Now granted the bread was brown, I can only assume it was likely wheat (VERY loosely defined) and it was packed with veggies, but it was also packed with loads of processed lunch meats.  And then just after the sandwich, this rich, chocolatey goodness appeared in all its crispy on the edges, chewy gooey in the middle glory.  Yes, my friends, I indulged in a chocolate chocolate chip cookie!!!  Why? Because I wanted to and I enjoyed every morsel UNTIL......the sugar spike, and then my poor body put it's pituitary gland in to over drive and the insulin flowed like I fully expect every river in Minnesota to do this spring....flooding, overflowing.  The insulin spiked just as high and hard as the sugar and when the carb crash set in and my insulin still surged....the worst headache I've had in a VERY long time set in.  I knew EXACTLY what was happening, I promptly popped 4 pain relievers to no avail.  It has happened.  My body was PISSED that I would dare poison it not only with the carbs of the bread and the dairy of the bleu cheese and the chemicals and poisons that are know as "preservatives" and other artificial ingredients, but I also sent my blood sugar on a rollercoaster ride and I paid dearly for it.  I still, 6 hours later, have the remnants of the headache and am battling to keep my eyes open.  BLECH!  I will think twice before indulging in such "treats" again.  Likely I will opt for the more nutritious and beneficial treats I have packed away and prepared in my cheery flowered lunch bag.

It makes me realize that even though my pant size hasn't changed and I haven't lost a considerable amount of weight on the scale, my body IS changing and DEFINITELY for the better thanks to the Whole Life Challenge!

So what did I do for dinner?  Well, rather than throwing the whole day away even though I'd wasted all of my nutrition points on the lunch I had, I chose to stay 100% compliant with a chicken and steak fajita salad. I'd had the steak and chicken marinating in a combination of olive oil and homemade taco seasoning for a couple days and combined it with:

Spinach

Fire Roasted Salsa

Black Beans

Avocado

Sauteed Garlic Seasoned Onions and Peppers

and

Jalapenos

It was DELICIOUS!!!!

So that's all for my hump day!  Tomorrow I'm in the office and have a chicken and steak fajita salad packed along with the egg sandwich I didn't eat today and all the fruits and celery I had in my lunch bag already.  It's bound to be a much more nutritious and insulin controlled day!

The Pay Off

Ok folks, so this whole challenge has been exactly that.....a challenge, but I've learned so much!  Not necessarily a ton about nutrition and exercise, but I've learned SO much about my body and what works and doesn't work and how eliminating artificial ingredients and eating whole, natural foods has me feeling like a million bucks!  I literally just sent a text to the man of my dreams telling him that I fully plan to keep a lot of the nutrition "rules" in place after the challenge is over, but use them more as guidelines.  What does that mean?  Well, to me, it means that I may enjoy some cheese, an alcoholic beverage, or maybe even some fresh bread or a pasta dish when I am dining at someone else's house.  However, here, at home, when I have the most control and where I spend the most time and when I pack my lunch or even dine out....anywhere I make a choice about what to put in my body without inconveniencing someone else....I choose to stick with "the rules", because it makes me feel good and why would I choose anything else?

I've tried a few new things lately too (of course).

One of my favorites is this breakfast which I believe I've shared before.  The combination of high fiber, high protein keeps me satisfied all the way to lunch!

Banana and Granola

1 handful of sunflower seeds

1 generous shake from the bag of the following:

           chopped pecans

           sliced almonds

           shredded unsweetened coconut

1 banana on the side for dipping

Yes, this is a lot of fiber and it's also a lot of protein.  PERFECT for after the gym!  My digestion is one of the most improved things I've noticed during the challenge.

Next favorite would be the BISCUITS!!! Yes, cheesy, garlicy, buttery BISCUITS!!!!  These are easily the closest thing you'll get to Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits that are 100% compliant.

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits 

1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/2 cup Nutrtional Yeast
8 Eggs (separated)
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
Sea Salt to taste
1/2 tsp baking soda
8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold butter, cut into pea sized cubes
Minced Garlic to taste (I used Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic)

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  Cut in butter and mix with hands or fork until crumbly, put back in the fridge to keep cool.

Whip egg whites until white and frothy.  Add yolks and beat until thoroughly combined.  Slowly add egg mixture to dry mixture and fold in until mixed completely.  The batter will be wet....that's ok, DO NOT ADD MORE FLOUR!

Place by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAMAZING!

I enjoyed a couple of these fresh and warm out of the oven with some butter....yes, real live unsalted butter.  It's ok, you can have it!  I'd planned steak, roasted broccoli and these biscuits for the dinner, but my daughter didn't want steak so we did a breakfast for dinner egg sandwich with some pork sausage on them....equally wonderful!

The next item on the new foods list is tomato zucchini stewp.  Mine turned out great, but I sure didn't stick to the recipe on this one and I don't have ANY sort of measurement for any of this, because this is how I roll when it's not baking which is 100% chemistry....I throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and pray it turns out tasty LOL.

Zucchini Tomato Stewp (not quite stew, but not quite soup)
Zucchini, cut up - about 3 small
Onion, sliced, chopped, however you like it - 1 whole big gorgeous yellow one
Ground Turkey seasoned with salt free Italian Seasonig, browned
2 big cans of stewed tomatoes
Garlic Salt
Pepper
Baby Bella Mushrooms, diced to hide them from my daughter, I used a 1/2 of a box because it was all I had
1/2 bag frozen peas (leftovers from the freezer)
Celery, diced - about 4 ribs WITH leaves!
Carrots, chopped
Parsley
Oregano
1 box of chicken stock (I use the Rachael Ray brand)

I don't remember what else.  I basically cleaned out my fridge of veggies.

And that's that.  Currently I have some chicken and steak marinating in a combination of olive oil and homemade taco seasoning to be tossed with some onions and peppers and stuffed in a crisp green romaine lettuce leaf with some avocado and salsa......or maybe I'll pile it on top the spinach I need to get used up in the fridge and make a salad out of it.  Either way, bound to be DELICIOUS!

Other plans for the week include Stuffed Portabello Caps, Chicken Sweet Potato Stir Fry, Pork Ribs with Rib Rub, and Jerk Chicken and Pineapple bowl and I'm sure there will be a night when the kids want the all natural hotdogs from our small town meat market and I'll whip up some rosemary seasoned sweet potato fries too.  We'll see.

So what's the pay off....well here's how the challenge has been going....

Week 1: -8 lbs

Week 2: +2 lbs (UGH!)

Week 3: -.6 lbs (UGH again!)

Week 4: -5.8 lbs!!!!!! WOOT WOOT!

Proof that hard work and persistence pays off!

P.S. I danced my ass off at the gym again this morning and did a lot of stretching.  

Satisfying My Craving and Being Selfish

My previous post said I planned to be at the gym on Monday, well thanks to a nasty stomach bug, THAT didn't happen.  I promise I'm not exaggerating when I say I was up most of the night between Sunday and Monday dealing with it and then only managed to get an hour of work in before I was cashed out and back in my bed for a 3 hour "nap".  Yesterday I slowly managed to eat normal and through the whole thing I stayed completely challenge compliant which was quite an accomplishment if you ask me!  I soooooo wanted some saltine crackers, but I knew that would spike my blood sugar, so I took it slow and eased back in to my healthy fats, proteins, and carbs that my body is now used to.  By midday yesterday I was pretty much back to my healthy gobbling bubbly self.  However through all of this I had no appetite and craved absolutely nothing except the gym.  Some wonder how a person can CRAVE the gym, but it's true.  It's a sanctuary for me.  A place that I can be alone with my thoughts, unplug to an extent and be selfish.  Yes, I said selfish....I am one of the most selfless people you will meat but I indulge in the gym when I feel like giving ME the attention I need.  This morning my muscles were tight from being in bed and laying around so much the past few days, so I chose to take it slow and start out with a nice long stretching session...I spent approximately 20 minutes stretching and it felt so so so good.  Then some of my favorite booty shaking songs came on, so I danced and danced and danced around the studio at Anytime and I had no idea how much I missed dancing until that point.  I was definitely doing my own thing, but it felt amazing.  I said to a friend this morning.....my body NEEDED the stretching, but my soul NEEDED the dancing.  And guess what, I worked up a sweat too....a mild one but still was a sweat session and that's all that matters.  I moved my body and made my heart happy at the same time and THAT, my friends, is an accomplishment in itself.  So I'm going to proceed in to the rest of my day....proud.

Love and hugs to my friends on hump day!

Do something today that makes your heart happy!

More recipes and plans for the week

Lately I've been making all kinds of fun concoctions!  A 100% compliant cake and frosting for my little guys birthday, chicken curry soup, chili, and shrimp fajita salad!  I've had some challenges mostly surrounding dining out, but I've worked through them the best I knew how and I survived.  And I'm very proud of my efforts despite the lack of actual weight loss.

Lately I've had SOOOOOO many excuses for not making it to the gym.  Most of them surrounding wanting to let the kids sleep later in the mornings, because we were up late the night before, because they didn't sleep well that night, or because they were sick.  There were multiple school closings for which I had to either keep the kids home or battle to find someone to watch them and then deliver them and then there were days that it was JUST. TOO. DAMN. COLD to haul my sorry ass to the gym.  But really all of these are just excuses for not moving.  There is plenty I could do at home, but then I have excuses there too....*I* didn't sleep well the night before, my back is hurting, there isn't much room in the newly rearranged living room, the kids made a mess and didn't clean it up.  Again, all excuses.  I'm pretty sure I'm the queen of excuses and procrastination and of course, that is one of the goals I'm working on this year and I believe recognizing it is the first step.  Now I just need to act on changing it, so this weekend while we had my big 5 year olds birthday on Saturday, we decided to have a quiet Sunday so we could all get a nap in and be assured everyone has plenty of rest so we can get up and get to the gym tomorrow morning.  I've been wanting to integrate stretching in to our bedtime routine as well, but again, the excuses have gotten in the way, so tonight my plan is to get that routine started.  That's what this Whole Life Challenge is all about anyway.  Small changes to our daily routine that stick after the challenge is over.  A lot of the dietary restrictions will likely stick.  Mostly because once you get used to it, it's not THAT hard and I know eliminating a lot of the artificial ingredients and grains, etc IS really good for me and because I feel pretty dang amazing!  So, I really plan for a lot of it to stick.  This weeks lifestyle challenge was sleep and I have no problem getting the 7 hours required to earn THAT point, so that's been just as big of a piece of cake as the water challenge.  Overall I'm doing well.  Lost 8 lbs the first week, then gained 2, and then lost .6  Which is VERY interesting, because I've had ZERO sugar, ZERO grains, ZERO artificial ANYTHING, ZERO gluten.  As long as I'm FEELING better, the lbs can come later.  I can not judge my success by the numbers on a scale.  This is about progress, not perfection.

So with that said, here are the recipes we've been loving lately.  Most of these are ones I have modified to fit our tastes/needs.

Chili:
1 lb ground turkey, browned
1 can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
1 can of beans (I've used kidney beans and black beans and a combination of the two), drained
2 Tbsp Chili powder
2 tsp Garlic
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Paprika
2 tsp Corriander
1/2 tsp Cayenne
2 tsp Cinnamon (yes! Cinnamon!)

(All of the measurements here are NOT what I used, but are what was in the original recipe.  I eyeballed mine and adjusted them to taste)

Chicken Curry Soup:
1 lb Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 box of Chicken stock
1 can Coconut milk
Bell peppers, chopped
Celery, chopped
Mushrooms, sliced
Onions, minced
Curry powder
Ginger
Garlic

Cook chicken in olive oil.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until veggies are tender.
Next time I'll be adding black beans, diced carrots, more onion, possibly some kale and DEFINITELY more of all of the veggies!

Shrimp Fajita Salad:

1 Bag uncooked shrimp

Olive Oil

Cumin

Chili Powder

Paprika

Coriander

Garlic

Spinach
Salsa
Peppers
Onions
Garlic
Salt

Marinate Shrimp in olive oil, cumin, chili powder, paprika, corriander, and garlic all day (or as long as you have, but not more than one day)
Sautee onions and peppers in olive oil, garlic and a pinch of sea salt.
Remove fajita vegetable mixture from pan and add shrimp/marinade combination and sautee until shrimp is opaque.
Add fajita veggies and shrimp to a bed of spinach and salsa.

And finally......

Birthday Banana Cake with Pina Colada Butter Cream Frosting!!! (recipes for natural food coloring also!)  I will preface this one by saying this was a helluva lot of trial and error.  I made a couple practice cakes that were too dry and frostings that were too strong coconut flavor, but needed more moisture.  The pineapple and substitution of regular butter helped tame down the coconut flavor and add to the moisture.

Cake

1 cup Coconut Flour

1 can Coconut Milk

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

4 bananas, mashed

1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)

1/4 cup Stevia

Beat all ingredients with mixer until well blended and not too lumpy (there could be some lumps of banana). Bake at 350 for approx 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Frosting

1/2 cup Unsalted butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup Coconut manna

1/2 of a fresh pineapple, pureed

1/4 cup Stevia

approximately 1/2 can coconut milk

Beat all ingredients except coconut milk with a mixer, add the coconut milk to create the desired consistency. Spread on cooled cake.

Natural Food Coloring

Orange - Steamed and then pureed carrots

Yellow - Pureed mango

Green - Pureed spinach

Purple - Pureed black berries (blueberries would probably work too)

Pink - Pureed Strawberries

Brown - cocoa powder - I used a bit too much.  Start out with just a tiny bit until you get the desired color, but this is also going to add a mild bitter chocolate taste the more you add, which ended up a little odd with the pineapple flavor in my frosting.

I didn't use all of these colors on my cake, and I couldn't figure out how in the world to do blue, but we made it work and it was YUMMY.  The key to the colorings if you are using vegetables is to choose something without a strong taste that would interfere with the flavor of your frosting (hence the carrots and spinach).

Well there ya have it....this week's menu contains mushroom cap pizza, steak with roasted broccoli and baked sweet potatoes, zucchini and tomato soup that I didn't get around to making this week, roasted cauliflower and marinated grilled chicken breast.  Who knows what else we'll come up with, but I'll keep adding recipes as I try them!  If you try any of these, let me know what you think!  I love hearing from my followers!

<3 <3 <3 Happy February <3 <3 <3