Weekend trip

Well I did it... It has been 18 years since I have, but I did it this past weekend.  What did you do, you ask?

CAMPING!!!

Ok I live in the country, but I am a city girl still at heart.  I can't help it, I grew up in New Jersey...

So, I prefer sleeping in a bed... in a room...inside...

My good pal Leslie and her husband Dave bought a pop up camper this year and have been doing some weekend camping trips and this was their last one of the season.

Dave and Leslie in front of their second home!

Here they are!!

So, they asked us if we wanted to go.  I thought yes I do want to go!  I can rough it!!

So we went... after not being able to find the poles for our tent and having to borrow one from Leslie's mom at the last minute, we made it to the campsite around 10pm after son #1's football game. (of which he played varsity for the first time!!)

Here are some pics of the rest of the weekend!

Our tent.  Notice the very plush air mattress!  Not messing around here.  LOL
Jonah looks so happy... not!

This is where Micah and Brandon slept... on picnic tables... all night.  I don't know how but that is teenagers for ya.

Jonah crashed out on our air mattress.  Found out later he was sick.

                                   Sweety and me having our morning coffee outside our tent.

A deluxe breakfast... Leslie's friend Geneva made the most amazing breakfast.  That is her on the left.  Homemade biscuits, jam, eggs, bacon, sausage, sausage gravy, toast!!  It was delicious.

                                             Sweety doing the breakfast dishes.  I love him!!

Tyler and Elijah having breakfast on the swings.

Jonah and Micah having sleeping bag fight.

CJ having his biscuit.

Jonah and Tyler hanging out.

Getting in my workout and enjoying every minute of the beautiful boat ride!!

Is this not gorgeous?  Pickett State Park.  Enjoyed a boat ride!

So, we had a wonderful time camping.  I am so glad that I decided to go.  Thanks Dave and Leslie for inviting us!!

A quick lunch idea

Sometimes I just don't know what I want for lunch. I spoke last time about the importance of eating breakfast, and by lunch sometimes I just feel well bored. I open my fridge and stare at it and think...I have no idea what I am going to eat. Anyone with me?

So today I had leftovers....which I #1 do not like leftovers and #2 with 4 boys in the house, I usually don't have any leftovers.

But today I did. But it was crunchy tacos last night and today I wanted a little something different. So here is what I made....




It is a burrito made with taco meat, black beans, brown rice, avocado, lettuce and salsa. It was so good, quick to make and of course healthy.

Plus I used some of my favorite Trader Joes products!



These are 2 new products I tried and they are total winners!




And these...so good...

So check your fridge for leftovers and see what you can make for another meal! I even froze the rest of the meat for some weekend nachos!!

Blessings,

Trish

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Breakfast...

Breakfast.
 You either love it, hate it, or like me can just take it or leave it.  It is totally not my favorite meal of the day and most of the time quite frankly, I can just do without it.  I never really cared for eating in the morning.  Now the husband?  He LOVES breakfast.  It is his favorite.  The works of eggs, bacon or ham, home fries, toast, juice....my stomach just cringes when I think of it. Oh well too each his own I suppose.
  Sometimes it is just too hectic getting the kids ready for school and then heading out for my day.  Sometimes I just don't feel hungry in the morning.
Well studies show that people who eat a good healthy and yes even larger breakfast on average are slimmer than those who don't.  Sounds weird huh?  Well I thought so too but upon reading many articles on it, it is consistent and true.
Breakfast is just what is says... Break the Fast.  You are fasting all night when you sleep.  Sometimes if I don't eat anything after dinner (which by the way is almost impossible for me.. I'll save that for another post)  then I am fasting for 12 to 14 hours....
So, by morning our bodies need nutrients to get us going again.  If we don't eat our metabolism will stay sluggish and we will burn less calories.  Sorry, a cup of java just won't do it.  (i tried)
Eating a healthy breakfast also will keep you from being absolutely famished by lunchtime when we then tend to OVEReat.
What do I mean by a healthy breakfast?  Well don't ditch that cup of joe.  Enjoy 1 or 2 cups with your meal, just don't overdo the sugar and cream.
Here are some great options.
Oatmeal with banana and walnuts.
Oatmeal with apples and cinnamon.
Eggs on a whole grain english muffin.
Eggs with whole grain toast.
Greek yogurt with fruit.
1 C of whole grain cereal (not fruit loops please)




Here is what I am having this morning. Steel cut crockpot oats with banana, applesauce, and blackberries. Yum.
Make your own smoothie!  This is great for on the go
My son makes one almost every morning.
Milk
Ice
Peanut Butter or almond butter
1 banana (frozen if you have)
1 Tsp Cocoa powder if you want it to be decadent without tons of extra calories.
Protein powder if you wish. (He plays football so yeah he uses it)
Blend well and enjoy!  This one is great.
Another one that I made for son #2 today
1 C milk
1 banana
1/2 C frozen berries
ice
1 tsp honey (of course he needed some sweetness, I don't add it for mine)
Blend and enjoy.  You can also add greek yogurt if you have some on hand.
These breakfasts are super healthy and will get your metabolism revved.  It also with fuel your body with the proper nutrients to keep you going throughout your morning and you won't be starving at lunchtime.
Todays tip:  Don't skip breakfast!!  It truly is the most important meal of the day.
Blessings,
Trish

It's a little early...

It's a little early, still summer in fact but I couldn't resist it. I got a big butternut squash this morning in my CSA box and thought...it's too soon...it's still summer.
But the soup won out....one of my favorites.

Creamy, healthy butternut squash bisque. Yum.



I couldn't resist making it. It is so easy and there are many variations, but mine was simple....

Onion
Butternut squash baked for 20 minutes in the microwave, scoop out the soft squash and add to the onion.
Organic chicken broth
Salt, pepper, nutmeg, honey
And finished off with a slight dab of real butter..I know right?
I didn't give measurements because I didn't use any.

Blend all of this up either in a blenderor boat motor...food processor...whatever you have on hand.

Enjoy this cup of yummyness and feel great about it because it is so healthful.

(on a random note..notice the grapes to the right of the bowl? I picked those from my grapevine minutes before I shot this. How cool is that?)

Blessings,

Trish

Summer Zucchini Bread

It has been a wonderful summer....loaded with fresh veggies. I have a small garden plus bounty from a friends garden and a CSA that I joined this year. (see previous post on CSAs)

So I always have lots of zucchini on hand. I love zucchini because it is so versatile. You can do so much with it. Today I decided on zucchini bread. This is one of those healthy desserts, breads, breakfasts that everyone in the family loves.




I made 2 with nuts and 1 without to satisfy both tastes in the family.

It is so easy and delicious!! Try this with your abundance of zucchini!

3 C white whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp asking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs and 1 egg white
1/2 C oil...I used safflower
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1/2 C honey
1t vanilla
3 C grated zucchini
3/4 nuts of your choice...optional

Preheat oven to 325
Blend dry ingredients.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and add eggs, oil, honey, and vanilla.
Do not over mix.
Fold in grated zucchini and chopped nuts if using.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes for smaller pans.
50 minutes for large pans




Enjoy!! Oh you can freeze these as well!

Blessings,

Trish

Amazing tip

I found an amazing tip! I read it somewhere online a few months ago. I just utilized the tip this morning so I had to share real quick.

This time of year I get a ton of stuff in my CSA box. (see previous post on CSAS). Of course some people can their abundance but I have tried and it just doesn't work for me. So I freeze a lot of my stuff, but I never froze my greens. Now I have cooked some stuff and froze it, but I saw this great tip. If you buy or grow too much greens such as spinach, arugula, Swiss chard...etc...just wash and dry it and freeze the whole bunch...as is. Don't cook, just freeze in a ziplock bag. This morning I was making a quick omelet and opened the freezer and there it was....my spinach from a month ago that I froze. I just grabbed a handful and added it to my omelet. It breaks apart in a ton of little pieces so it was perfect for that. You can easily add to soups, pastas, eggs, smoothies...etc!

I love this! No more wasted greens!!

Blessings,

Trish