Weight Loss and Lunch

HALF OF ME BLOG

Check out the entry from the link, a great
testimony of what diet and exercise can do.

I was browsing around on some other sites, checking out other blog links. Although I really wasn't looking for anything special I did find a humorous blog that mentioned certain words in her post just to up the site meter count, unfortunately she joked that it was only perverted teen boys who would probably look. However she did discuss healthy food and weight loss and mentioned Pasta Queen who has lost a lot of weight. I checked out Pasta Queen and am pretty impressed with her computer skills. Her pictures turn when you click them and one picture shows her at a very obese weight and then today, she also has an overlay of a 10 pound weight loss - you can really see the difference!

I am so excited that my lunchbox came in. I have been browsing the pages reading about how much our disposable lunch packaging costs the environment. I love the little sauce dipper and silverware - FUN! There is even a tag on the front in which I can write my name. I can't wait to begin using it.

I now have the perfect reason to pack my lunch. I will be working extra hours in a unique opportunity to act as a "home school mom" (what I call it) for a student who needs the service for the rest of this tri-mester, it is in addition to my current work and is paid separately. My role will happen in a public library although the situation is very complex unlike my mention of it here, I am very happy that this is an option that the school/ parent could opt for.

Also concerning school, Matthew just finished his first semester in a college computer class (CISCO I). He is really a high school senior, but is earning these credits through a post secondary enrollment option. He made it through with a 72%, 70% is passing. As a previous homeschool student he needed to learn some study skills, which he did under pressure of finals week. When asked what he would do differently next semester he said he would take better notes and actually study from them. He'll be taking CISCO II next... he has Monday and Tuesday off so you'll probably see some more great cooking from him.

He is thinking of Bryanna's 20 minute seashell casserole with a salad. I think is also time to make a seitan roast and to make some good European bread. I'm going to have to pull out my crockpot again also, because three days a week I won't get home until 6 pm and will desire to have supper ready to eat. I'm also getting hungry for some of the basics, like red beans and rice or a simple black bean stew over a sweet potato. It is super cold as of yesterday, below zero kind of cold which is normal for us. We finally got our fist snow and it is expected to snow 3-6" tonight which is also normal. It is not normal that we have had autumn kind of weather up to now. Besides lots of warm herbal teas and hot cocoas here is some of the food we have been eating...

Dreena's Vive Le Vegan Stork Muffins, DD made these as her breakfast recipe of choice. The muffin portion was not very sweet, but when you get the pieces of the chopped date and cranberries - delish! Made with oat flour, ww pastry, and barley flour. I am a little bit of a stevia fan, so I would add just a tad bit of that to these muffins for the family's sweet tooth. DD says the coconut in them make it hard to eat with her braces.

I love Dreena's hummus and have had some on hand for several weeks now. This was a "salad" plate I made before a meal this week - - - yum! I cooked up about 3 lbs of chickpeas not long ago and froze them in 2 cup quantities as well as made two batches of hummus so that I could pull it out and use it as needed. I could have canned the chickpeas, but will wait a bit longer.... I really need to stock up on my home canned soups again. I miss having it ready to grab and go.

Yesterday when I was in a hurry for something quick I made this dish of Pasta and Greens over Mueller's multigrain pasta. The recipe came from Bryanna's 20 Minutes to Dinner cookbook. My picture doesn't give this recipe much glory, but I really loved the flavor. I ended up mixing the turnip green and beans topping which offered a strong flavor in with the spaghetti. I served a side of cooked cauliflower to go with it. The veggies were from my garden, both came from the freezer.

Here is a little review I found on the Internet (here) about the pasta ...."a box of Mueller's Multigrain Pasta, an 80 percent whole-grain pasta that cooked up chewy and dense like a great semolina pasta. The flavor was surprisingly full but not distracting or overpowering. I suspect the reason this pasta is more tasty than other whole-grain pastas is that it's made from a mix of rice, oats and wheat. The pasta is made by the American Italian Pasta Company. The pastas come in penne, rotini and spaghetti shapes."

DH's birthday is the 14th (today). I made him flaming breakfast muffins (they are Dreena's carob chip made with 100% barley flour) frosted and complete with candles, fresh sweetened hot soymilk and oranges.

Have a good week!