OH JOY! {Almond Joy MIM} (S)

When I was in college, there was an awesomely delicious bistro that we went to once in a blue moon on special occasions...when we had $8 to spend on a slab of cake...and we didn't know we were  making ourselves more insulin resistant by the bite (and by "we," I mean me).  There were so many gorgeous, gourmet cakes in the glass case just waiting...

One dark night, I met one in particular and fell in love...Mounds Cake.  (I don't know why they called it that, actually, because it had almonds on it, and that is really an Almond Joy instead.  We all know "Peter Paul Almond Joy's got nuts--Mounds don't," right?)

Anyway, it was layer upon layer of dark, dense chocolate cake, with coconut creamy filling, almonds, ganache...{swoon}...

SO, after starting Trim Healthy Mama, we got to go back to our old college stomping grounds for a friend's wedding...and there it was...THE PLACE.  I wanted to eat a piece just like the old days...so we stopped and I went in.  But then I just couldn't...you know...I JUST COULD-ENT!

I've been thinking of it off and on since then and finally decided to try my hand at making a Mounds {Almond Joy} Muffin in a Mug!  And it was Awesome.  And I'm stuffed.  For all you THMs out there, this is definitely an S (satisfying)!

The cast of characters

Plus the almond extract I forgot in the first picture...

Print This Recipe




INGREDIENTS:
"MIM"
1 egg
2 Tbsp. golden flax
1 Tbsp. almond meal
1 Tbsp. unsweetened coconut
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 Tbsp. almond milk
dash of salt
5-ish dashes of Kal pure white stevia extract (only 3 little holes open)
1/2 tsp. almond extract
5 almonds (cut in half)
Coconut oil (or other) spray, optional

"Frosting/Topping"
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. unsweetened coconut
a splash of almond milk
a couple shakes of stevia
3 almonds (cut in half)

DIRECTIONS:
"MIM"
Spritz coffee mug (or other heat-safe dish) with cooking spray (opt.).  It's not "purist," but neither is the microwave we're about to cook it in.  Crack egg, whisk with fork.  Add all other MIM ingredients and stir, stir, stir until well blended.  Pop into your microwave and cook for 1 minute. (If you have a lower-wattage micro, you'll have to watch it and maybe go longer, like 1 minute + 30-40 seconds).  Take it out, put on plate, and cut in half...now for the topping!

"Frosting/Topping"
In a bowl, mix everything except the almonds together until well combined.  Spread on top of hot, lovely, beautiful muffins, and sprinkle each half with 3 almond pieces.

Give Thanks and Enjoy your Almond JOY MIM!

Almond Joy MIM

See the yumminess?

All that's left is a full & happy tummy and a little iced coffee...Ahh!

Blessings and Peace from our home to yours~

Best. Roast. Ever. (S)

Pepperoncini Beef Roast is one of my favorite recipes of all time!  Not only does it combine a moist and succulent roast beef, but it's married to the tang of pepperoncini.  It only gets better...you just dump it all in the crockpot, turn it on, and walk away...

You will come back to the most gloriously tantalizing aroma!  (I didn't take pics of the roast, so I'll have to go back and add them, but this...this recipe must be enjoyed!)

It's so very simple.  Make it.  Soon! ☺

Print this recipe


 

Crockpot Pepperoncini Beef Roast

1 3-4 lb. chuck roast
1 16 oz.. pepperoncini
2 T. minced garlic

• Place roast in the slow cooker, and pour the entire contents of the jar of pepperoncini, including liquid, over meat.
• Sprinkle minced garlic over the roast.
  
• Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. 

Make it this weekend!  For you Trim Healthy Mamas, this is an S Meal!  Enjoy with a delicious S salad or other veggie (like some green beans sauteed in olive oil and garlic?) and you're set!

Blessings and Peace from our home to yours~

Breakfast With Jesus

October 16

Breakfast with Jesus

John 21:12

In these words the believer is invited to enjoy a holy nearness to Jesus. "Come and eat" implies the same table, the same food, and perhaps it means to sit side by side, and even lean our head on the Savior's shoulder. It is being brought into the banqueting-house, where the banner of redeeming love waves in welcome.

This invitation gives us a vision of union with Jesus, because Christ Himself is the only food that we can feast upon when we eat with Him. What union is this! It has a depth that reason cannot fathom. Ponder His words: "Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him."

It is also an invitation to enjoy fellowship with the saints. Christians may differ on a variety of points, but they all have one spiritual appetite; and if we cannot all feel alike, we can all feed alike on the Bread of Life sent down from heaven. At the table of fellowship with Jesus we are one bread and one cup. As the loving cup goes around, we commit our lives to one another. Get nearer to Jesus, and you will find yourself linked more and more in spirit to all who like yourself are supported by the same heavenly manna. If we were nearer to Jesus, we would be nearer to one another.

We also see in these words the source of strength for every Christian. To look at Christ is to live; but for strength to serve Him, you must eat what He provides. We work too often in a sense of unnecessary weakness because we neglect this perception of the Master. None of us need to put ourselves on a low diet; on the contrary, we should fatten ourselves in the Gospel so that we may derive strength from it and extend every power to its limit in the Master's service. Then if you would realize nearness to Jesus, union with Jesus, love to His people, and strength from Jesus, "come and have breakfast" with Him by faith.

John 6:56
********************
From _Morning & Evening_, by C. Spurgeon| A. Begg

Psalm 127

Psalm 127

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of Solomon.

¹ Unless the Lord builds a house,
    the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
    guarding it with sentries will do no good.
² It is useless for you to work so hard
    from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
    for God gives rest to his loved ones.

³ Children are a gift from the Lord;
    they are a reward from him.
⁴ Children born to a young man
    are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.
⁵ How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!
    He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

8 MONTHS THM AND COUNTING

Obviously, my quest to lose weight has been a life-long struggle.  I have had years worth of pain, struggle, discouragement, and heartbreak.  Medical issues, personal pain, and social struggles.

BUT Our God is Greater, isn't He?  He is THE ONE to whom my soul belongs...and longs for!  He has shown me the way of health for me, and I am so thankful to be so blessed.  I have been considering blogging my THM journey, but so many other women are, so I decided to just chime in on here whenever I had something to say.  If this ever gets found in cyberspace and helps even just *one person* to have hope for change like God has shown me, it will be worth it!

Here is my current update:

OVERALL WEIGHT LOST: 69 lbs.
THM WEIGHT LOST:  45 lbs.

I have just started TTapping, which I have high hopes of shaving more inches off me...especially my belly and thighs...and my arms...and, well, everywhere, I guess!

This Pilgrim's Progress Report

Today is June 30, 2013....This is a good "6 month progress report" for my Trim Healthy Mama journey....although I started loosely in December, I didn't really get serious until the first of January, and since today is the last day of June, in my mind that equals 6 months of real trying! :)

This journey so far has been wonderful, challenging, and life-changing in so many ways...I would love to write more, but I have a 5 year old who is waiting patiently (or not) to play a Barbie computer game since she finished all her chores, so until next time...It's a Wonderful World & a Wonderful Life.  I'm going to go enjoy mine!

Ciao!

TRIM HEALTHY MAMA (A.K.A. "IT'S A *NEW* WONDERFUL LIFE")...DAY 127

Special Agent Brownie Cake and...what else...COFFEE! :)

THIS, my friends, is Special Agent Brownie Cake with a delicious cup of coffee & cream...for BREAKFASTS! I'm in love!

I started TRIM HEALTHY MAMA (very roughly) on December 5, 2013 (minus the weekends)...it was a struggling start, as I didn't have all the groceries I needed, was (am) still learning the plan, lots of company, the holidays, etc.
BUT I don't know if I've ever stuck with anything for this long before.  Today is day 127.  That is 4 months and 6 days, to be exact.  That's 18 weeks...almost 1/3 of a year....For me, that perseverance is a HUGE victory!

Benefits so far:
Exercising most days of the week
Better sleep
More energy
Better moods/fewer mood swings
Happier
Fewer stomach problem
Lower blood pressure
Lower blood sugar
"Foxier" ;)
Smaller measurements
Weight loss
Smaller stomach
No post-meal "carb comas"

I know there's more, but that's a good start!


I have finally lost 50 lbs since starting!!!!  Happy Dance!!!

-50 Total since 2010
-26 THM since 12/5/2012

Monday...

Strawberries dipped in Skinny Chocolate & coffee

See this "diet" food I "have" to eat to get trim & healthy?!  Poor me! :)  I have never, EVER been this thankful for a lifestyle change.  God is so good to me...THANK YOU, LORD, for Trim Healthy Mama!!

UPDATE:
I weighed in this morning after a pretty good weekend, and it wasn't bad!  I hadn't lost any more, but I had barely gained any, so I call that a win!

I have very far to go...at least 100 pounds, but for now, I'm so thankful to not have gained the customary 6 lbs. over the weekend!

A few special things happened that encouraged me:

1.  Casey said that he wanted me to help him do it, too, because he could see a change in my energy and moods and weight.
2.  Anna said that I was a happier & funner Mama these days...and that she could tell that I had lost some weight.
3.  Gracie wrapped her arms around me to give me a hug this morning and said, "Mommy, I can touch  my hands when I hug you."  She said that she hadn't been able to do that before! :(

I write this with tears in my eyes...not because of what "I've accomplished" but because I finally understand better of His Strength being made perfect in my weakness! God is soo good to me, and I just wanted to praise Him...I know Satan will try to sabotage & destroy & demoralize me, but our God is Greater! I can't wait to try to get down further and try to come off at least one of the BP meds that makes me so tired...(or at least reduce my dosage)...then maybe I'll even feel more like exercising! :) 

ONE TRIM & HEALTHY MAMA COMING UP!

THE SINGING CANARY

 Once upon a time, a mama who had been trying to lose weight for YEARS...in fact--a girl who had been trying to lose weight since at least age 14 (and was now 38) was lying on her bed crying--no, WEEPING out to God to please, please, please save her from herself and her body's decline & weight & health issues.

That was September 2012.  Later that day (or at least shortly following her pleas for help), her new magazine "Above Rubies" came in the mail.  The first issue she had ever received.  She sat down to read.  Flipping through all the great pages of articles on faith, family, homeschooling and health, she saw it.  IT.  The "IT" she'd been praying for!  The book was Trim Healthy Mama, written by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison--sisters, no less!

As she read the information on this book that was 5 years in the writing/publishing...about how these girls had tried it all...all the diets, eating plans, life styles, etc., but how at long last they believed they had the REAL answer...she wondered if this was the one to set her free!  Was it too good to be true?  Please, Lord, let it be true!  She dared to hope!  Weight Watchers; No Flour, No Sugar; Atkins; South Beach; Slim Fast; Bars/Shakes plans; Lean Cuisine; and now contemplating at last gastric bypass or gastric sleeve surgery.  She had already gone through almost all the steps, met with the surgeon, filled out the financial paperwork, and then was convinced by her endo not to alter her anatomy just yet...just try a little harder & a little longer.

Today I'm praising God that I did just that!  It was 5 a.m. when I drowsily woke up as my husband kissed me on his way to work and asked if I could please buy a book I had read about that might be the answer.  That was the morning of September 19, 1012.  I ordered the book that day for $35...the only one they had available on Amazon.  Then I waited....It arrived October 2!  2 weeks!!  I was dyin'...

When I got it, I started to read it...it was overwhelming!  Over 600 pages!  BUT, the beautiful thing was that we left for a road trip to Oregon on Saturday, October 13, so I put it away and waited.  As we left our Idaho home and hit the road, I read...and wept with joy...and simply devoured page after page of freedom, hope, and joy!  No more bondage, shame, and guilt?  No more fear, embarrassment, confusion?  Please, God!

I don't remember what I weighed when we left on our trip, and I know that we were so tight financially that I couldn't afford many of the specialty ingredients and that I only half-way started trying to follow it...but I didn't give up.  I KNEW it HAD to work...I couldn't afford for it not to!

Fast-forward.  Why I procrastinated, I'll never know! :(  I went to see my doctor for a yearly check up on Wednesday, December 5 at 9:15 a.m.  I did not weigh myself at home before I went.  Let's just say I knew I was "fluffy" or "plush" or "sturdy" or whatever kinder word can be inserted here...
However, I weighed **4 at her office that day.  Sigh.  "Look, kids, Big Ben, Parlaiment!"   I used to be **7 on the gym scale at my heaviest (**4 at home), and had gotten down to **5ish at home in January 2012 [-39 lbs.].  Then my cousin Jake died, we traveled...I ate carefully, but came back having gained 10+ lbs. after just a weekend!!  I was so discouraged and disheartened...I kept trying, but struggled my way [weigh?] back uphill.  Now, I had only lost 23 lbs.  from my heaviest [a.k.a. gained 19 lbs. from my lightest], and was feeling worse for the wear. While there, she tried to convince me to try a nutrition shake/bar program being offered through the doctor's office.  $200 up front/$100 per week thereafter.  :(   Do I even need to say it?  Of course NOT...I couldn't even afford (or so I thought) to buy different groceries!  or could I?  Could I afford NOT to buy different groceries?

I came home, told my sister (who was watching the girls) everything, and it was right then and there that WE decided to DO THIS THING!  I started that day, doing the best I understood how, but was still cheating on the weekends...So....**4 on her scale.  I don't exactly know what that would have been at home, but I think I'll go for an even **0 (since I weigh myself before I get dressed here at home). :)

I began THM to the best of my ability, that day (minus the weekends), and then I GOT INFLUENZA A.  It was Christmas Eve and I was dying on the couch...not really, but I was in a fever delirium and definitely happy to go to Quick Care after Hubby & the girls got home from Christmas Eve service.  That helped give me a jump-start, because I just wasn't hungry/couldn't taste anyway.  THEN, little by little, payday by payday, I have begun to add to my knowledge and pantry WEAPONS for use in this battle! :)

Probably no one will ever see or read this...I write it for me, at least for now, so I won't explain the plan.  HOWEVER, I will update this:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013
Today I did the "happy dance" because I am half way done with Week 1 of a 2 week Fuel-Cycle, and this morning, I weighed **4.8!!!  (I recorded **5, though, because the ounces fluctuated the 3rd time I got on, just because I was so elated and shocked!

DID YOU DO THE MATH?  FOR MY "AT HOME WEIGHTS", I HAVE NOW LOST A TOTAL (not just on THM, because I will ALWAYS count my previous weight loss! :) OF:.........39 POUNDS!

YIPPEE!

39 Total
15 Since December 5, 2012...7 weeks!  That may not seem like a lot to anyone else, but to me, it is!!!  Thank you, Jesus, because it's all BECAUSE OF YOU and THROUGH YOU and FOR YOU!

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." ~I Corinthians 10:31, NIV