I was able to stick with healthy eating again today.  It was  a little difficult when we were stuck in traffic at 2:30 and I was starving… but I managed to hold out and rewarded myself with healthy lunch at Panera. It was also challenging when Jake came home with a bag full of Valentine’s and candy, but I held out.

Today’s menu for me:

 

Breakfast- 1/2 cup Kashi cereal, 1/2 cup milk, 1 banana

Snack- 1 banana

Lunch- (Panera) 1/2 sandwich- ham and Swiss on rye (no mayo), cup of french onion soup, diet soda

Dinner- 3oz of home cooked roast beef, 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup corn

Snack- 2 full graham crackers, 1 cup milk

Couch to 5k challenge

For a while now I have been wanting to start the couch to 5k program.  I finally started today.  It was a pretty simple run/walk workout.  I was glad it wasn’t too rough since I am not fully recovered from being sick.  I was hoping to bring Cheyenne in the stroller and let Jake run with me, but the stroller wheel is broken so they got stuck at home with Mike.  Maybe they’ll be able to join me on Wednesday.

I have also decided to return to the same type eating plan I was using when I had gestational diabetes with Cheyenne. It’s a pretty easy diet plan to follow.  I just picked out the number of calories appropriate for me, then determine how much of each type of food I am allowed per meal.

So for breakfast today I had some Kashi cereal with milk and an apple with a tbsp of peanut butter. For lunch I had a flat out wrap with turkey, bell peppers and hummus on it and strawberries on the side.  Now dinner is cooking.  Tilapia,  wild rice, pineapple and asparagus. And I still have a snack left. Probably will have some milk and graham crackers.

So far so good. I also made a nifty little motivational jar set I saw on Pintrest.  One has colored rocks and says “Pounds to lose” and the other is still empty and says “pounds lost.”

Stuffed Bell Peppers – The easy way!

Another family favorite meal in my family is stuffed bell peppers.  We pretty much eat it weekly and everyone’s excited when I make it. The very first time I made it I tried to do it Grandmas way. Stuff uncooked bell peppers with uncooked rice and raw meat and let them all bake together.  Hours later the shells still weren’t as tender as I would have liked. I knew I had to come up with an easier way to make them (and one I could handle making in the summer.)

The ingredients are:

Bell peppers 5 or 6 whole ones

2 cups of uncooked rice

1 package of ground turkey

1 jar of pasta sauce

1 medium onion

cheese for topping

First start the rice in the rice cooker, 2 cups of rice to 3 cups of water.  Then dice up the onion and 1 0r 2 bell peppers into very small pieces.

Saute veggies in a pan with a little olive oil or cooking spray.

Next, slice the bell peppers into the desired shape for stuffing. You can cut the tops off or slice them length wise, tonight I chose length wise.  Pull out the seeds and insides. Place the bell peppers into a couple large ziplock bags and microwave about 10 minutes until soft.

After bell pepper and onion mixture has cooked to be tender, move to a plate and use the pan to cook the ground turkey.

Once turkey is done add the bell pepper onion mixture back to pan. Also add rice from rice cooker that should be done now  and jar of pasta sauce.

Fill the pepper shells with meat and rice mixture.

You will have a lot of the rice mixture left over, just scoop it into the pan and flatten it out (that’s the part my kids love to eat!)

Top with shredded cheese.  I like Colby the best, but most cheeses taste great.  Mozzarella, Monterrey Jack, cheddar.. They are all yummy!

Bake in oven at 375 for about 10 minutes until cheesy bubbly perfection is reached.

Cheyenne says “these are good!!”

Pasta salad- Jake’s favorite

So today for lunch I decided to make pasta salad. Super cheap and easy meal, and one of Jake’s favorites.

All you need is:

• Light Italian dressing
• a box of noodles
• Parmesan cheese
• and some veggies of your choice (the crisper the better)

First boil water and add the box of pasta to the boiling water. I like to use Barilla Plus noodles. They are a bit healthier than regular noodles and way better tasting than whole wheat.

While pasta is cooking chop the veggies and grate the Parmesan cheese (if it’s not already grated.) Today I used green onions and chopped carrots.

After pasta is al dente drain water and rinse with cold water. No, not because it magically does something to the pasta. This is the only time I ever rinse my pasta, only because it is meant to be eaten cold and I am not really the “plan ahead” type of gal.

Once pasta is rinsed and cool add cheese, veggies and Italian dressing to bowl and stir.

You can eat it now or let it get all yummy and combined in the fridge. I usually serve it right away, then have left overs the next day or two. The kids love it and so do we.  Taste much better than it photographs!

Healthy lettuce wraps!

One of our favorite dinners are healthy lettuce wraps, inspired by PF Changs.  Honestly I had these before I had PF Changs, so I like these better.  Here’s the ingredients:

1 – 20 oz package – Extra Lean Jennie-O Ground Turkey

1/2 C fresh mushrooms, chopped

1/2 C scallions (green onions), thinly sliced on the bias

3/4 C red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 C carrots, chopped

8 oz. can of water chestnuts, chopped

1/4 C Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce

1/4 C Kikkoman Lite Soy Sauce

2 T sugar free maple syrup

2 T freshly grated ginger root
1T red pepper flakes

1 tsp ground black pepper
1 large head of iceberg lettuce

Honestly I measure the sauce and add as much veggies as I feel like using. I know some people like exact measurements, so there you go.

First combine the teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, ginger, and red pepper in a bowl and whisk together.

Next brown the turkey meat in a large skillet.

While the turkey is browning chop all the veggies and the water chestnut into small pieces.

When turkey is thoroughly cooked add the veggies and the sauce to the pan.

Continue cooking until veggies are tender and sauce has reduced. About 7 minutes over medium heat.

Last, cut out the core of the lettuce (that big chunk at the bottom of the head of lettuce). Cut head of lettuce in half  and pull off leaves to fill with the yummy mixture you just made. I usually serve with a side of rice.

Serve to your family and watch your kids attack a dinner full of veggies eaten wrapped in a veggie. Amazing!

Serves 4:

237 calories, 2 grams of fat, Total Carbs 17 g, Dietary Fiber 4 g, Protein 37 g, Sodium 1,333 mg

The sodium is high, but I think totally worth it every now and then.

Parenting book review and new personal challenge

    I had mentioned before that I ordered some really great new books.  I am very excited about them. I am usually not much of an independent reader, but these books are really working in my life.  My favorite, so far, is called Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes… in you and your kids.  This book is amazing me everyday with all the lessons I am learning and the revelations I am having.

    The focus of the book is honor.  I didn’t know that when I bought the book, but I was so happy to find that out.  It is really bringing the idea of honor into my life in realistic terms and speaking to my heart.   This book is helping me in so many areas besides just parenting, and I can already see a huge difference in Jake too.  After just 1 week!  I sat down last week and explained the concept of honor to Jake and why it’s so important.  We talked about why it’s important not to whine and complain, but to do everything with a loving heart.  I could tell that he was really able to connect to that point and has really been working hard at it.  Several times this week he has cleaned his room and the living room without me asking, along with tons of other chores and he says to me “Mom, I really wanted to honor you.”  Such a great boy!  The book really focuses on the fact that obedience and honor are not the same thing, and that obeying without an honoring heart isn’t enough.   It also speaks about how honor does more than what is expected.  Such great lessons for kids to learn about home life, church life, school, and work.

    Another part of the book talks about how life’s not fair and we should not allow our kids to expect fairness.  Such a great concept.  It really dives into the idea of individuality in children and teaching them not to expect everything to be the same with siblings, friends, and peers just because… but instead teach your kids that you will try your best to be the best parent to each kid, individually. 

    The book also spends a lot of time focusing on anger, foolishness, and selfishness.  It speaks of why anger always messes things up, how to manage and get rid of anger, along with reasonable solutions for yourself and your children.  Foolishness and selfishness in both kids and parents and the problems that come along with.  I love the solutions this book offers. 

    Today I was on the chapter about raising teens.  Honestly, I almost skipped the whole chapter since (thankfully) I still have a while before I have to deal with teens.  Thank God I decided to read this chapter.  I was amazed about how many lessons were in there for me as a person.  One focus of this chapter was about teaching teens why they should honor every person whether or not they believe this person is worthy of honor.  It explains that everyone is valuable if only for the fact that God created them that way, and we need to treat each and every person as a person of value.  This was really a hard concept for me, especially with a lot of my paternal side of the family.   Another focus for teens was on a concept they call the ”Teen Challenge.”  This challenge is a 6 month project in teaching teens different honoring character qualities.  In the challenge you pick 10 traits your teen could benefit from exploring.  You then describe the trait for them with a lesson you hope for them to learn.  Include a memory verse and activity for them to try it out.   I thought this was such a great idea, not just for teens but for everyone.  I have decided that I am going to partake in the ”teen challenge” myself, and possibly a mini challenge for Jake.  When I come up with my 10 traits I will post the plan and blog about the outcome of each.     

    Thanks for reading, this one ended up pretty long

Maybe I’ll get back into blogging…

I have been thinking that I would really like to get back into blogging. I am not very good at commitment though, except to my kids and hubby of course. But definitely not with jobs, mandatory tasks, or chores.  You know, the not so fun stuff.  Anyways, I am going to attempt it.

I haven’t really narrowed it down to a specific category yet. I am reading a couple of really great books, so those may inspire a blog or two.  One is a marriage book and the other a parenting book.  I am also very interested in doing a recipe blog. I attempted this before, but was unsuccessful. I think my problem was that I was not using my own cooking style or recipes for the blog. This time around I will be using my own favorite recipes and meal ideas.

Should be fun. I hope you all check it out!

What’s in a name?

I want to enjoy every second I have with them!

I’m sure people will be wondering why I named my blog “Twenty Two Minutes a Day.”  For starters, 22 is the best number ever.  I can’t help but smile when I say 22, and if you repeat the number 22, over and over again, faster and faster, it really makes you wanna giggle.  At least that’s what happens to me. I was also 22 when I had my first child. 

Will I be blogging 22 minutes a day? Everyday?

Highly unlikely!

I would like to devote 22 minutes a day to a happier healthier life.  A life that is truly embraced.  What little things could you do in your life for 22 minutes a day that would drastically change your life forever?

Here’s my list:

• Read to my kids
• Read the Bible
• Laugh out loud
• Sit in silence
• Pray
• Cuddle a loved one
• Share some time with my husband
• Play like a child
• Give piggy back rides
• Help out another person
• Send out notes of appreciation to my friends

 

The possibilities are truly endless. Twenty Two minutes a day could have a huge impact on your life. You may not be able to do everything on my list (or yours).  But for me, even doing 1 thing off my list for 22 minutes a day would make a big difference in my life.

I would love to hear your list!

Say less do more.

I really love being a mom. I love knowing that a few people out there are really being affected everyday by the things I do. It’s a little intimidating at times. What if I mess up? I take comfort in knowing that it’s not so much about how many mistakes you make. It’s more about how you fix those mistakes and what you do to prevent repeating your past mistakes.

As a mom I know that there is always someone watching me. Someone learning not from what I say, but from what I do. This is also a good lesson in my works as a Christian. People are watching me and it’s affecting how they live.

In the coming days and weeks I am going to work on saying less and doing more. As a person who often puts her foot in her mouth, this will be hard. I always have something to say, and I always have a joke to tell. However, a lot of times I hear myself screaming from inside “WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING?”  If only I could listen to that voice and actually stop talking. What an accomplishment that would be!

I know, it’s not exactly ground breaking, but it is difficult. A lot of times I feel like I have tons of knowledge to do greater things with, but knowing and doing are 2 very different things. In order to be a great mom and an honest woman of God, I need to be consistent in my character. I need to do what is right, speak kindly, listen more, and apply what I learn. Your own advice is sometimes the hardest to follow, especially once you become a mom. I want to be the type of person others can look up to, and not because of what I know or what I say, but because of what I do.

 Say less and do more! I will update you all on my success, and even more fun– my failures!