Green Juice Update

In an earlier post my sister and I pledged to get healthier.The first step was to clean out our bodies by doing a juice cleanse for a week. We should've consulted with one another better because a week for me meant 5 days for my sister it was 4 days straight juice then 6789 10 lol. Needless to say  I did struggle a bit and did on 2 instances ate  other things. The 4th day we had a lunch scheduled(great timing hubby!) So I had the salad bar and only ate the greens(lettuce,spinach...)I felt great not tired actually full of energy.I was able to get a lot accomplished and actually started on my new workout routine.The 5th day was another story I woke up exhausted ,I didn't want anything to do with the green juice so I just drank water. When it hit lunch time I wasn't worried about anything but sleep so I took a small nap(30 min) Dinner came and I was hungry but was still tired of that green juice so I made my own being(kiwi,broccoli,spinach and a bit of pineapple juice.) It was good because it wasn't as sweet.Than later that night is when dizziness set in and I ate saltiness crackers.So all in all I did make it through the juice fast and really cut back on a lot of things.I lost 1.6 lbs which wasn't the goal but a nice reward at the end.

Amy on the other hand was all in it,she didn't cheat at all.She actually caught me on that last day chewing crackers on the phone. Eventually we both decided it would be best if she stopped the next day. I was glad she agreed because she has a very small frame and IF I didn't feel good I knew she probably didn't.lol I wish everyone the best on their cleanses and fast and IF you feel its the best go longer or shorter. I watched a lot of fasting videos and researched many different recipes till I found the types that worked for me.

Lane

Bend your hanger

I've been doing this for a while now but didn't think to tell anyone till now. When you look into my closet it looks extra organized. BELIEVE ME THOUGH IT DID NOT ALWAYS LOOK LIKE THAT. I have learned many many tricks to make it look just right.My favorite trick I have to admit is bending my hangers. Im a lady so if you're a lady you will know what I'm getting at,but I have a ton of blouses that won't stay on a hanger. Most won't stay simply because the neck is (decorative and wide.) So I have learned that if you take a regular wire hanger and just bend up the corners it will hold just fine. I do this with anything that tries to slip off of a hanger.Hopefully this helps you get you closet a little more organized, If you have any other tricks let me know.


Have fun!
Lane

Amy's Weekly Menu

I try to eat by the concepts of the book, Trim Healthy Mama. Pretty much not mixing fats with carbs and eating a primarily whole foods diet & without sugars and white flours. So.... that sets the stage for next weeks menu:

~Amy~

Monday-
B-omelet
L-quinoa topped with salmon & a side salad
D-baked chicken and broccoli w/ side salad
Tuesday-
B-Trim Healthy Pancakes
L-grilled cheese and tomato sandwich on homemade bread w/ celery & peanut butter
D- Fooled Ya Pizza
D-Skinny Chocolate
Wednesday-
B-omelet
L-sweet potato and salad w/ tuna
D-baked chicken and broccoli & a side salad
D-berries & cream
Thursday-
B-Muffin in a Mug
L-Fooled Ya Pizza
D-crockpot chicken w/ cream cheese & green chilies
D-macaroon cookies
Friday-
B-greek yogurt swirled with hemp powder, stevia & peanut butter
L-sauteed salmon over quinoa & side salad
D-huge salad with the works
D-peanut squares

Due to family time, church etc...we wing-it on the weekends :-)
Yes, we do have dessert EVERY night, but it is prepared in a healthy, whole foods way.

                    THE GIFT OF TIME

So my boys are getting older, which means so are their friends, and they get invited to A LOT of birthday parties.  Lots of gifts for lots of parties can get expensive really quick. I've got a solution!  One that works well for us anyway.  I give the gift of time by inviting over the friend for a pizza party/ sleepover. We grab a couple of Hot-N-Ready pizzas from Little Caesars ($10, which we needed dinner too anyway) and let the kids hang-out. The best part is they can stay up all night.  The birthday kid seems to LOVE doing it and its a nice treat for my kids as well.

~Amy

Doggy potty

Ok the dog just got a new yard so I can't blame her for wanted to relieve herself everywhere. I mean I don't know why I thought I had this perfect dog that would chose one small patch of grass and only go there. never the less it's everywhere and we chose this yard so the kids could play and the dog could play. She mistook the yard is yours for the yard is your potty. So I had to figure something out and here it is,make a place that's just hers separate from the yard where she can relieve herself. Surprisingly I'm not the only one who's thought of this (darn.) Anyways so out in my yard I went to find what in nature I could use for this potty. Thankfully I had recently chopped a ton of pine trees down so that was my better part. The only thing I needed to buy was weed paper to keep weeds and grass from growing into the potty (you can use newspaper)being as it was a potty I didn't want to have to replace anything. I'm not completely finished so I grabbed a pic of what the idea is. Now mine won't be as pretty seeing as the inside is pine straw and the border is wood,but it will suffice.I made it 5 ft by 5 ft seeing as she's  husky mix so she needs the space. I believe it's going to allow her relief and relaxation.With us still being able to utilize the yard. I will update with pictures when I finish. Until then any advice would be helpful and enjoy the pet patch pic!


~Lane~

Support Christian Business & Get Free Deals

Go into any Chick-fil-a restaurant or Family Christian Bookstore and snag one of these calendars. Not only are you supporting a GREAT Christian-owned business but you're rewarded with a free item each month.  Not only that, but you no longer have to cut out the coupon at the bottom of the calendar each month because they now have an ever so handy card that is credit card sized that they slide each month. The monthly free items are listed on the card as well as your calendar. You can also sign-up for e-mail reminders for your free item each month. January's free item is a chicken sandwich. YUM!!!
~Amy~

Sweep those counters

Yep you heard me (saw the words)correctly.Just like you sweep your floors. Take a cleaning brush and a pan and get to sweeping. Simply hold the pan at the edge of counter and begin to sweep with the cleaning brush. Brush all of the crumbs into the pan then dump into a trash can. I like this method because the back of my brush has a scrapper for the hard to get,sticky stuff.Then just wipe down the counters the way you normally would.

Dont forget to get the cabinets afterwards(washcloth blog)
BTW you can pick one of these up at any store that sell kitchen supplies. I snagged mine from Dollar tree for 1 buck.

lane

Monkeys on your back?

I have my cute lil monkey who loves to be with me ALWAYS! Sometimes I need a break like when Im cooking or cleaning. So the other nifht when I was cooking and my huby was watching tv I had to do something to get lil one off my leg. He was hanging on me like never before and you cant just kick them off ( like I imagined in my head.) lol I was desperate and I got a great thought color. Not just paper and color bu COLOR. I grabbed the biggest piece of paper I had ( which happend to be a big paper blanket that you wrap furniture with.) I gave him crayons and he had a ball. Not only didhe color ,he stomped on it,rolled and made a tunnel out of it. It was a blast and now I just roll it up and take it out during  an "emergency."

Try different paper news,bags,tissue ect...
Have fun!

lane

Water anyone?

There are many people and companies out there that do not want you to be healthy. One of the ways your body stays healthy is do eliminate or clean itself out everyday.Sometimes it needs a little help so remember a little tip. Dont forget to drink water as soon as you wake up,not just a little bit but a large cup. Drink anything you would normally drink after but keep your body healthy and drink up!

lane

washcloth?

I was cleaning the counters today when I realized a nifty,time saving trick. The way I normally clean them is a few steps as follows....

1-wipe off crumbs
2-scrub with soapy water
3- wipe with clean dry washcloth
4-(optional) wipe with disinfectant wipe


Now after your done you have a wet,soapy washcloth right. So heres the tip! Take that washcloth and wipe down your cabinets with it.
You knocked 2 chores out at once. I dont know about you but I cook everyday and have a 1yr old son. My cabinets need cleaning often,also little hands can help with this 1.Have fun!

L

Watch me plant

Planting an indoor flower is a lot of fun! So why not do it I have to admit allowing a 1  yr old to do it not the best idea. He got excited and lets just say broke the flowers neck. It was a great project though.The good news is the flower is in recovery lol.  Its easy to forget how simple fun can be,just hydrating the dirt was fun...Enjoy the pics maybe you will get some good project ideas.
P.S the chore of the day was perfect for this one. (mopping)

lane

What to do about the midnight munchies

Glucomannan to the rescue....

What do you do late at night when you're hungry and a cup of hot tea won't do the trick???

Eat yummy pudding made of Glucomannan of course!!!



Konjac Glucomannan powder is a pure soluble fiber with no protein, no fat, no sugar, no starch, it is also gluten free and wheat free.

Research proves that the higher the viscosity of soluble fiber, the better the control of blood sugar levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes. The konjac Glucomannann is the most viscous soluble fiber in nature.

The most popular food thickener is the starch type thickener, such as cornstarch. Konjac glucomannan is a natural, odorless soluble fiber that is found in the konjac plant. The konjac Glucomannan is the most viscous food gum in nature. It has about ten times the viscosity than cornstarch. Konjac glucomannan is also called konjac flour or konjac gum. Unlike cornstarch, konjac powder is soluble fiber, which does not contain starch and sugar, it does not have calories.

Konjac flour can be used as a thickening agent in food application. When using konjac flour for thickening, always mix it with a small amount of liquid (cold water, stock, wine, etc.) until smooth, then add this mixture to the food that you want thickened. If you add konjac powder directly to your food you will end up with a lumpy mess. Konjac powder can be used as a thickener for smooth gravies, sauces, glazes, soups, stews and casseroles. It is also a thickener in pies, puddings, custards and cake fillings. This naturally odorless vegetable powder is also gluten-free, making it the perfect substitute in cooking and baking when flour and other glutinous starches must be avoided.

Konjac powder doesn't thicken very much when mixed with cold water, but quickly thickens when it's heated. This is why you don't add dry konjac powder directly to hot liquids. It will seize and immediately turn into lumps because the konjac powder contacts the water so quickly and fully absorbs the liquid before the adjacent konjac powder can. Mixing konjac powder with cold water allows it to absorb the water slow enough that it's easily and fully dissolved first. The dissolved konjac powder can then be added to a hot liquid to absorb it without lumping.

Konjac powder is an ingredient to thicken sauces and gravies or any other cooked recipe. To use konjac powder as a thickening agent, first disperse it in a little cold water or other "watery" ingredients such as soy sauce, and slowly add it (with constant stirring) to the other ingredients while they are cooking. About 1 teaspoon of konjac powder will gel about one cup of liquid. If you have not used konjac powder as a thickening agent before, it is best to experiment with it by beginning with lesser amounts, and adding as necessary until the desired consistency is reached.

Konjac powder has about ten times the thickening power of cornstarch. Dissolve the konjac powder in a little cold water before adding it to the sauce. Konjac flour thickens nicely when it's heated to boiling temperature, so it usually works well for savory sauces.

You could also use a konjac powder to thicken your broth - konjac powder is a very powerful thickener and does not add much taste.

easy to please easy to teach

I have tons of people asking me how is your son so smart,how can you teach him when he cant understand? My answer is they DO understand! The fun part is that 1-3 year olds are the easiest to teach. Anything you do be it out or around the house is the perfect time to teach. Just this evening I was I was mixing me one of the teas you just add to a bottle of water.Wolla a learning opprotunity. I let him take the cap of both the bottle and tea. then place them on the counter,an dump the tea in. He loved seeing the water change colors also running the bottle to his dad. It was a cute ,easy fun learning experience.

lane

This is day 2 of my 10 day juice cleanse.  For the first 4 days I'll be drinking this yummy Green Goodness that I picked up from Wal-Mart.  I'm making sure to get my exercise still. Yesterday I did a 15 min. cardio/strength combo work-out and today I went over to the gym and took a 1 hr. Pilates class. I feel great! Now off the homeschool my sweeties. ~Amy

Happy New Year! I LOVE a New Year! It's like a fresh new start.  Today I, Amy,  am starting my 10 day juice cleanse. I'd like to kick my sugar craving to the curb, along with give my digestive system a break. I made a few more goal/challenges for myself and can't wait to see how it all plays out.

 Introduction:

My sister, Alonna, and I are blogging together again. SO EXCITED!!! We had a blog together years ago and it was great, but we both started to feel overwhelmed and had to let it go. We seem to have a much better handle on our crazy lives of homemaking and homeschooling. We live in different states; I don't think one single state could contain the two of us and our craziness :-) We cant wait to get to know some new blogger friends and share a bit of ourselves with you!