A quick dinner when your in a time crunch!

Let's be honest.  We all have nights where we didn't plan dinner.  Where we are in a time crunch and we need something QUICK.

Here is one of my GO TO quick meals.  Something I grab when i'm at the grocery store and realize i don't have a clue what we are doing for dinner.

Stir-fry.  Stir-fry is a life saver for us.  I buy a package of chicken sausage (read your ingredients .not all chicken sausage is equal) and a package of PRE CHOPPED veggies.  That's right, I spend a little more money and buy the nicely packaged pre sliced up and arranged stir fry veggies. (generally found next to veggie trays in the produce department    And then I dump it all into a pan. :)  Sure, buying veggies already prepped costs a little bit more, but it saves this family LOTS of calories and fat at the fast food drive through!

-i heat& sauté  in a pinch of olive oil.  Generally i add sea salt and pepper, and some balsamic vinegar for flavor!  usually take mes 20 minutes MAX.

(confession:  Yes, there are times we still do fast food.  I'm not perfect. Working on getting better and better though!) 

Don't be fooled!

Commercials, ads, social media.  This is the type of advertising that WORKS, and gets us to buy stuf! And some foods and drinks that are advertised as healthy, are NOT healthy.  Here are some of the top offenders in my opinion.  And the ones that drive me nuts.   I'll only go over a few today!

(you are always welcome to do your own research--don't feel like you must take what i say for Gold...although it probably is...kidding, kidding.)

1. NUTELLA

     this one kills me.  Like, literally it kills me.   Their ads say things like "start your day with a BALANCED breakfast."  Lets get real kids.  You'd literally be better off eating potato chips (calorie wise, sugar wise and fat wise) then you would nutella.  I'm not saying potato chips are good..i'm just saying..nutella being "healthy"  no no no.   (also, i love nutella...so i try to avoid it at all costs)

- read that advertising.  wowza.

2. FROZEN "HEALTHY" MEALS

    you know the ones.  "Smart ones"  "Lean Cuisine"   I won't lie, years ago, I used to buy these for Mark & I.  Looking only at calories and thinking "well if i keep my lunch under that many calories it's all good."  False.  Check out the sodium content on those suckers.  Sky High.  And, if your reading ingredients and you can't pronounce nor do you have any clue what an ingredient is, you probably shouldn't be eating it.

3. Several things entitled "SKINNY"  specifically now taking a look at "skinny" cow ice cream sandwhiches"

      I'll let this article do the talking:

http://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/01/19/skinny-cow-exposed/

I'll be the first to admit for years I bought the frozen meals and the skinny ice cream.  I looked merely at calories and fat and sugar.   But, i'm learning a LOT about food.  It's disheartening how much of the "healthy" food is actually not very healthy.   As i learn more, i'll share more.  And i love doing so, Which is a huge reason i started this blog!

moral of the story:

KNOW your ingredients! 

(all images grabbed from google)

I'm not sure what direction i'm going.

Hi friends,

I've decided to do it.  I've decided to start a food & health blog.  I'm not entirely sure what direction this will take, i may end up taking a picture of my dinner every night and just slamming it up here :) But i'm taking a leap and we'll see what's to come!

Here are a few reasons I'm starting this blog:

1.) i LOVE to cook & bake.  I get paid to do it every day, plus i do it at home too.  In short, i do it a LOT, it takes up a LOT of my time, and so i'd LOVE to share it with you.

2.) I'm passionate about getting healthy.  As someone who has always and continues to, struggle with her weight, i love eating things that make me feel GOOD, and WHOLE.

3.) I've been asked to!  I make weekly menu plans and have been asked MANY times for those plans, for recipes, etc.  So now when i'm asked- i can direct those askers right HERE! :)


I'll leave you with a tasty treat that I made this weekend.  Memorial day called for a treat, and because I've been working so hard to loose weight, i didn't want it to completely derail me!  Thus, Brownies!  (Made from sweet potatoes!)

• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 small sweet potato 
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (make sure it can withstand medium high heat up to 365°F)
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips (can be omitted) 
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbs cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

how do i do it?

1. Bake the sweet potato at 400°F for about an hour until it is very soft.
2. After the sweet potato is cooked, reduce heat to 350°F!
3. Once the potato is cooked, peel and mash it in a large bowl. Then add in eggs, honey, and oil.
4. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients: almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon.
5. Add dry ingredients into the wet and stir well. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Grease a 9×9 baking dish and bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes until firm.
7. Let cool, then cut into desired size.