Hands On Learning

I love that learning can be so fun.  At Mason's age (5), it feels like I'm planting seeds that will grow and grow and grow in the years to come!

This is a treasure that he found at Goodwill yesterday, and it's provided plenty of entertainment while the big kids work on their writing.

Ava Anderson March Specials

Here are the March specials from Ava Anderson!  

www.avaandersonnontoxic.com/mfrick  (Party ID 23256)

www.facebook.com/mfrick50

Trim Healthy Mama: Week One Plus A Recipe!

I have to say that I ordered this book more out of curiosity than I did with any plan to follow the program.   I had a few friends who were doing well following this plan, and I am on a facebook group for moms and quite a few ladies on there have raved about THM for months.

 Once I got the book and dug in, I couldn't believe the wealth of information that was included!  It was all so easy to understand and I was finally understanding concepts and facts about the body and nutrition that I had never really been able to totally comprehend.

After I made it through the chapters that explained WHY this eating plan made sense, I was sold!  

I had already made out a plan to get those pesky holiday pounds off, but I took an extra week and reworked things to fit Trim Healthy Mama!  

Can I just say that I LOVE THM!  

I really wish I had bought this book after I lost weight 2 years ago (was it even out then?).   This way of eating makes sense and is working wonders for me!

Let me back up a bit.  Back in the summer I was down to my lowest weight yet...I was eating great and exercising, yet I started having some health troubles.  My doctor sent me for blood work just to check everything, and my fasting blood sugar came back high!  My blood pressure had been running high all summer and I couldn't figure out why.  I had gone off of my bp meds a month into my initial weight loss in 2012 and thought that I was done with that issue.  

My doctor urged me to increase my exercise since I was already eating good, and asked me to monitor my bp.  

Fast forward to December and I was having a lot of trouble with my BP still.  Didn't surprise me since it was already elevated leading up to Thanskgiving, but that's also when my eating started going downhill.  I won't hide that fact that my attitude was bad--I had spent months wondering why I even bothered with the clean eating if I was still going to have trouble.  So, I started eating stuff I knew that I shouldn't (the scale showed this pretty quickly).  

I had a bit of panic and went back on my blood pressure meds.

Fast forward a bit more to now--I have been following Trim Healthy Mama for 1 week and things are going great!  Reading the book helped me to realize that while I was eating good foods, I wasn't combining them in good ways!  It makes total sense to me now (as well as the fact that my BP was likely high due to the increased insulin in my system).  

I LOVE that I have spent the past week eating some amazing foods that are completely satisfying!  I am filling my diet with "good fats" that I used to eat sparingly (once a day maybe).  My family is eating all of the meals that I make and I haven't had any complaints (in fact, they often go back for seconds). 

 My cravings for sweet, salty, snacky foods are gone thanks to the abundance of fats that I'm eating!

I've lost 3 of the 10 pounds that I gained over the holidays--and I haven't counted a single calorie!  

My jeans are feeling lose and I am pretty sure that I won't be on those blood pressure pills much longer (I'm already sensing that my bp is going low!).  

THM is a bit overwhelming at first, but I gave myself some wiggle room in that first week and had to learn by making mistakes.  It takes time to figure out how to pair the foods, but only a week in I feel like I have a good hang of it.  The facebook page is helping me a lot!   

I can honestly say that this is a fun way to eat and I am pretty sure that it will be permanent for our family!!

Now, if you read all of that then you deserve a little reward! 

 This is the recipe for a snack that I eat almost every day.  I went a bit heavier on it this morning and had it for breakfast.  A friend's husband calls it "Hippie Yogurt" and I think that's perfect!

"Hippie Yogurt" (S)

1/2 cup nonfat Greek Yogurt

Stevia to taste (I use 4-6 drops)

1/2 cup rasberries

1/3 cup walnuts 

2-3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut

1/2 teaspoon hemp oil (optional)

Mix yogurt, stevia, and hemp oil in bowl.  Top with berries, coconut, and walnuts.  

In the picture I used a small handful of blueberries instead of raspberries and no walnuts.  That pushed it into FP territory, so keep that in mind.

Enjoy!!!

Back On Track

I fell off of the "clean eating" bandwagon around Thanksgiving.  I now have 10 pounds of "Holiday Cheer" that I need to offload, and to be honest I need to go lower than my original goal 3 years ago (was it really that long ago that I started working on this issue??).  

I have done fairly well maintaining my weight for the last 2.5 years.  I tend to play around with 10 pounds here and there, but I always get it back off.  This time I'm going for about 10-15 more, so we'll say that I'm working to lose 25 pounds.  Give or take a little. 

 I don't like that I have to continue working to keep the weight off, but I have come to terms with the fact that this will be a lifelong journey.  If I stick with the lifestyle changes and stay one step ahead of the nasty enemy, it will be much easier!

This is my "plan".  These are things that I know will work for me and they are realistic.  I will likely mess up sometimes, but that's okay.  I'll pick myself up and keep going!  

*I'm going to cut out all grains and refined sugars.  I will allow myself stevia and a limited amount of coconut sugar.  

*I will be trying out the Trim Healthy Mama plan (waiting on my book) but again, no sugars or grains and very little dairy.  I have had a few of the recipes from the book and they are good!  

*I'm going back on my SuperMom vitamins.  These are awesome and I really had a much easier time losing weight while taking them. Maybe a coincidence, but I do know that I feel great while taking them.

*Drink 1/2-1 bottle of Kombucha a day.  I love this stuff so much.  I make my own but also drink this brand when I'm out of my stuff.

*Track my foods using an app.  I won't necessarily be "counting calories" but I do need to journal what I'm eating.  

*PLAN MY MEALS!!!  Going into the day without a plan is a recipe for disaster.

  

*100 ounces of water a day.  Ideally you want to drink 1/2 your body weight in water each day (converted to ounces, of course!).  100 ounces isn't 1/2 my body weight.  It's just an amount that I aim for.

*Get back to taking a probiotic again.  The Kombucha is full of probiotics but I am going to take another one as well.

*30 minutes at the gym, 3 times a week.  This doesn't sound like much to some, but again--setting realistic goals.  I'll build up to more.  If I take a class then it will add extra time.

*Last but certainly not least, PRAY!!!  This will always be an important part of my battle.  It's a spiritual one for me--the enemy knows that food is my weakness and he uses it against me.  I may re-read Made To Crave as well.

Hopefully I can keep my progress updated here weekly...I'll do my best!!

New Year, New Start

Every time the new year is closing in, I feel so much motivation to revamp our school routine.  This year is no different.  I almost feel like I want to have our school year run from Jan-Dec with taking the month of June and December off completely (and more random times through the year).  That would work so well for us, but I guess it would mess the kids up with their "grade" level.  I probably shouldn't worry about that.

We're getting back on track January 2nd with just easing into Math and reading.  On the 6th we'll pick back up full force.  We are going to be starting IEW with a friend and I'm looking forward to that.  I've always been intimidated by it, but she has some experience and I think having the kids do it together will be fun!

I also ordered Life Of Fred to supplement math, mostly for Natalie since she has a bit more trouble grasping the concepts.  I'm hoping they'll find this fun.  I've heard that most kids enjoy it, but that it is best as a supplement to another program.

We're going to start a simple spelling workbook (Spectrum).  I somehow forgot to start spelling in the fall and was reminded of it when we had our homeschool review!  Oops!

Wyatt and Natalie will also continue with the Minecraft Homeschool lessons.  We tried it out before Christmas and they liked it.  I like that it is something they look forward to!

We had started out our year using a lot of Easy Peasy.  I still like the program, but I found that the older two kids would rather have pencil and paper in hand.  Mainly Wyatt--he didn't like the clicking around and reading on the computer.

I'm also going to be implementing a rewards system for school time.  I know there are differing opinions on rewarding kids for something they should already be doing, but here is my thought (some of this is after talking to a friend who does something similar).  As adults, we are rewarded for hard work.  We are motivated by many things, with money and rewards at the top of the list.  Yeah, the satisfaction of completing a job well and such are there but let's be honest...most kids are going to work harder if they know there is something else waiting for them. 

I'll share what I come up with once I get it tweaked.  Hopefully it helps to keep us all on track better!

Thanks

I'm thankful for time.  Quiet time with God in the mornings, time with my kids before they are grown up, time with Ben to laugh and snuggle, time with friends for coffee, time to "just be".

I'm thankful for the freedom and ability to homeschool.  It's a good feeling to know that I am in control of what my kids learn and when they learn it.  I don't homeschool to shelter, but I am thankful for the protection of their innocence that comes along with it.  I am thankful that I have a supportive husband and that we have been blessed with an amazing support system.  I never, ever thought that I would even consider homeschooling my kids. 

I'm thankful for Amazon.  I know, this seems superficial but it's true.  I am thankful that I can find good deals and have them delivered to my door for free (in 2 days!!).  This year I've decided that I am NOT going to stress about getting out to shop and remembering everything, buying too much b/c I see something else in the store that I think someone needs, etc.  My goal is to do 75% or more of my shopping online so that I can enjoy more time at home with family.   I think we let Christmas become too stressful sometimes!

I'm thankful for new things.  New friends, new opportunities, new days (his mercies are new each day!), new recipes, new books, new ideas....everything new!!!  I like old things, but new things are exciting!

I'm thankful for my kids.  I love that God has trusted me with them (although, what was he thinking??).  I am thankful that I was able to easily become pregnant, something that I don't take for granted.  I have quite a few friends who long to be moms or to be pregnant, and I know that it is a blessing that I shouldn't overlook.

I'm thankful that even though some days I feel like I am at my wit's end, I have 3 kids who make this life so much more exciting!

I'm thankful for "social situations".  I am a VERY social person (if you know me then this isn't a shock!) I love to talk and to just be with people!  If I'm sad or stressed, I just want to talk and be around people!!!  I never meet a stranger. 

Butternut Squash Fries

I came across a recipe a few weeks ago and I just had a chance to try it.  I haven't cooked much with butternut squash. I'm not sure why because I do like it a lot.  I think I'm just not sure what to do with it!

These turned out really good.  Next time I will definitely cut them thinner (maybe get a fry cutter--is it worth it?) and cook them a bit longer.  Another option I might try is frying them in coconut oil on the stove top!

2 small butternut squash 

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

 1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

Preheat oven to 400°.

Peel the squash with a veggie peeler. Slice the ends off of the squash, slice in half, and then remove the seeds. Cut into "fries", about 1/4-1/3 inch thickness.

 In a large bowl toss with coconut oil, salt, and sugar. Bake for 1 hour on cookie sheet. 

 You can use a spatula to turn them about halfway through to help get both sides crispy. 

If I were being honest here, I'd tell you that once these were done I sprinkled them with a bit more coconut sugar.  Just keep that to yourself :)

Here is a good article on the benefits of coconut sugar.  It's pretty much the only sweetener I use besides stevia.