Category: Blogging

Try This Orange Chicken Recipe

Can you believe I grew up never, ever eating Chinese food? In my twenties, a friend took me to a Chinese restaurant and I order sweet and sour chicken. It was delicious, unlike anything I had ever eaten. Paired with egg fried rice? Hello, yummy, I was sold. Over the following years I acquired a taste for Szechuan Beef, Sesame Chicken, Egg rolls, Dumplings, you name it, I loved it.

After my husband and I got married we ordered it maybe 2 or 3 times not much but sometimes. Recently, my husband started going with his co-workers to a Chinese restaurant by his work for lunch. He brought home some Orange Chicken and WOW! I couldn’t stop eating it!

On a side note we don’t eat out as a family very often. We think it is way more cost effective and healthy to make homemade meals. So my challenge was to come up with a good Orange Chicken recipe. Of course I went right to my go-to recipe site, The Pioneer Woman. I go to her site first when I am looking up recipes. SCORE, she has an Orange Chicken recipe! So I figured that would be a good one to start with.

I used chicken thighs just like she recommended. The only I will change next time is I will use about 1/2 the amount of fresh ginger. My husband loved it and so did I! Thanks Ree Drummond for ANOTHER amazing recipe.

You soak it, fry it, dry it, fry it again and then toss it in the most amazing Orange Sauce ever! Top with green onions.

Highly recommend, this is so delicious. We served over rice but will be using lo mein noodles next time!

November 15, 2014
Breaking the Weight Loss Plateau – Change it Up

I am at 38 pounds lost which means, I broke the plateau! What did it take? A change up in my exercise routine, just like everyone told me! I started with swimming and water aerobics. Felt so good to get in the pool and swim in the water. Another thing that I have started is working out in a new area of my Gym. They call it the Red Zone and it is full of super fun equipment to get your workout on. Resistance bands, medicine balls, cross cable machines, rowing, tug of war ropes, and so much more.Here is a video taken in the Red Zone:

Post by Club USA.

I went in and did this Kettlebell workout. It was awesome! My legs got a really good workout.

August 15, 2014
A New Easy Way to Make Donuts at Home

Fast, delicious, easy and not messy! Can you beat that? The result? Donuts, glorious donuts. I made these for my kids because I cannot indulge in these perfect looking delectable. I am reducing but I did have 1. They are mini after all.

My sister bought me this donut maker and it is a great little machine!

I made this for my son’s birthday breakfast, he loved the big surprise but the donuts even more!

July 7, 2014
My Weight Loss Journey – Plateauing

Created by MyFitnessPal – Free Weight Loss Tools

I have lost 33 pounds in the last 5 1/2 months. It feels great but I still have a ways to go. The problem: the last 6 weeks I am only losing .5 pounds a week! I guess this is what they call plateauing. I knew it would be coming sometime, everyone warns you. I am taking it in stride. My jeans are so baggy so I know that the weight is not always the best indicator.

People have mostly said that when you hit a plateau, kick up your workouts and change them up too. So that is what I am going to be doing.

Time to change things up!

I kicked up my workout and this week I plan on trying new things to shock my body back into gear. I have been doing the elliptical for 45 minutes, 3x a week and 25-35 minutes, 3x a week. I also do circuit training.

I am also interesting in taking one of the classes available at my gym, in an earlier post I stated that it was my desire to not start classes until I was in better shape. Well… I think now is the time!

Will let you know how that goes!

June 17, 2014
My Weight Loss Journey – Slowly but Surely

My new theme: Slow and Steady wins the race.

Since I started this journey, I have hit a wall of sorts. I have been losing a 1/2 pound per week for 4 weeks now. Frustrating to me but ultimately I know that losing it slowly will result in it staying off. I also need to consider that I have been strength training and building muscle. MOST importantly, however, is discipline.

I have thought about it and ultimately it was a few factors that have led to the slow down in weight loss recently.

1. Illness – Our family went through a round of a nasty colds and it put me out of commission. I did not work out for 5 days straight, that killed me. I was so afraid of getting out of the swing of things… and then I did.

2. Parties – Tis the season of parties. I had 3 parties and a dinner out. At the parties I scooped up the potato salad, pasta salad, chips, even soda pop! I was remorseful later but at the time I kept telling myself that it was a party and to enjoy myself. I need to remember that enjoying myself should not be predicated on eating. Will need tons of self-discipline for this Summer season. There is always fruit. I need to stick to that and to lean protein only. Nothing else is needed, at least for me.

3. Temptation – This can go along with #2 but I am specifically talking about having junk food in my house. There is no need. Yet, this past weekend we ended up with soda, candy, chips and donuts. The good stuff…right? Wrong! We really did have it all. And yep, I really ate some of it all. Bad idea. The solution for now: NO junk food in the house! My kids do not need it, my husband doesn’t need it, and I certainly do not need it.

I am back 100% starting yesterday, even had a great workout. Drinking lots of water with lemon and lime today, will eat light and have another great workout tonight. Onward! Looking forward to the 30 pound mark, only 1 pound to go!

May 21, 2014
Family Road Trip Part 1- KC Barbeque

My husband has family in Missouri and he has an Uncle who was holding a boxer puppy for us so… we headed out to Kansas City. Of course the first thought on my mind – KC Barbeque!! You know what I am talking about, it’s world famous, everyone knows!

Now we had to do our research. So we consulted sources familiar to all… Zagat, Yelp, Google Reviews, Trip Advisor, Guy Fieri and the totally cool Anthony Bourdain. There was one place consistently in the top 3 from all sources. Who would it be? Who’s name kept coming up over and over again? Oklahoma Joe’s of course!

Hands down the #1 place for KC Barbeque is the undisputed Oklahoma Joe’s. With 3 locations serving the greater Kansas City area, it wasn’t hard to get to one right from I-70.

We took 435 South and exited in Olathe to get to the Strang Line Road location.

The is one of their new locations, its nice, new and spacious!

Nice big menu, great selection, pretty good prices.

We ordered the Full Slab Dinner, it came with bread, beans and pickles… does it get any better than this:

Everybody recommended the Z Man Sandwich, read the description:

“Slow-smoked beef brisket, smoked provolone cheese, topped with two crispy onion rings on a toasted Kaiser roll”

How could we resist?

Here it is, of course the BBQ sauce smothering took place right after this photo….

The youngest in our crew ordered the barbeque chicken plate:

My Boys lovin’ it:

Just a small sampling of Awards:

Something also must be said about the french fries, they are seriously the best fries we have ever had. They were off the charts, phenomenal! I would drive back for those alone, the seasoning is amazing!

We are ready to head back, this could be an expensive addiction. Kansas City is 8 hours from Denver. Wishing I had a juicy rib right now.

April 30, 2014
My Weight Loss Story – Goodbye 27 pounds!

Officially, as of today, I have lost 27 pounds since the beginning of February! I am so thrilled and not only with the pounds lost but, the inches lost is even more remarkable. If you are reading this and you want to lose weight and get healthy, START NOW!

O, how I wish I would have started years ago, even months but I let soooo much time go by. I started this journey just a few months ago and I am seeing real results already, it’s amazing. At times, even this week before weigh in, I feel like it’s taking forever to see results but then I do a reality check. The results are there and they are real, slowly coming but surely coming. Start today!

Also, measure yourself in the beginning of your journey. I did not measure myself until about 7 weeks after I started. I measured at the beginning of April and then today… I have lost 14″ from all over, except my thighs. That is just in the last 4 weeks!

I work out just about everyday, we go to the gym at least six days a week. I do cardio using the treadmill, bike, and the elliptical. I also do strength training as well as Just Dance.

When I first started working out in February I could this machine for only 5 minutes before I was gasping and couldn’t go on.:

Then by last week I was up to 20 minutes!!

Yesterday I am happy to report that I did it for 25:38!

So thrilled at results!! Today I am going to shoot for 30!

Start today, if I can do it, you can do it!

****UPDATE****

I am up to 45 minutes now! I am shocked!

April 25, 2014
Angry Birds Easter Eggs

We love Angry Birds in our house! Here are the Easter Eggs we made in honor of our favorite game Birds!

The only problem – poor R2D2 is upside down!

All we did was hard boil our eggs and paint them to look like angry birds. We used some of our favorite angry birds characters including Chewbaca from Star Wars. It looks like they’re getting ready to play a game of football!

April 18, 2014
Weight Loss Journey – 1 pound away from 25 pounds Lost!

WoW again and again!

Who would have thought that I could have lost 24 pounds already? Not me!

I love the way I feel and I love the way my clothes fit! My wardrobe is already growing since I am able to pull out clothes that didn’t fit anymore. I am down 1 jean size and almost another because they are basically falling off. It’s incredible! What a feeling. The ultimate goal is far away but I am please with how far I’ve gotten. There is no stopping now.

What have I learned this week? That there actually is a “right time” to weigh yourself!

Let me tell you a little story…

I joined a weight loss contest among friends and we post our weight each week on a private Facebook page. I have been weighing myself on Thursdays because that is the day of the week that I weighed in on that very depressing day back in February. I have also been weighing myself at night because I use the scale at the gym and we work out, as a family, in the evening.

Last week I weighed myself before leaving the gym and I was so depressed to see I only lost 1 pound, it felt like more. I came home and posted my weight on our FB page. The ladies were wondering why I posted early because they all post on Friday morning. They told me it is way better to weigh yourself in the morning. I decided to get up early the next morning and run to the gym. Sure enough I had lost 3 pounds! Isn’t that amazing? The trainer at the gym also told me that your morning weight is your “true weight”.

Needless to say, from now on, I will be running to the gym on Friday mornings.

Even though this week saw only 1 pound gone, I feel slimmer in my clothes. I have been doing strength training in addition to cardio, and since muscle weighs more than fat I think I am gaining muscle.

Join me! It is never too late to change your life!

April 17, 2014
Weight Loss Success – No more Fast Food or Restaurants

I have lost 20 POUNDS SO FAR!!

I thought it was time for a before and after picture! I am at only 20% of my goal, but to me, I can’t believe it! I never thought I could do it!! I didn’t really take a formal “Before” picture but I found one taken close to the start of my new lifestyle.

Funny thing is… I lost most of it in my rear, which is great! No more shelf!! Most people I see say something after I go to walk away from them. I keep hearing “Wow, now I can really tell”, lol. Seriously though, looking at the picture on the left makes me disgusted and ashamed. I am so glad that I am finally changing! I can’t wait to buy cute clothes!

One HUGE eye-opener for me was fast food and restaurant food. Now, of course I have always known that Fast Food was not healthy but I truly didn’t realize the extent of it. Truly too, restaurant food is not better. Even those who tout a “healthy, low-cal or low-fat foods, their numbers are just double what you should have for a meal.

Admittedly, grabbing some drive-thru can be so very convenient when you are on the go and have kids to think about. But really, what I realized, I can run into the grocery store grab fresh fruit, yogurt and bottled water for the same price. They even offer cube cheese with apples slices and other types of healthy snacks in the deli area. Sometimes I will grab my boys a veggie tray and they devour it. Fruit trays, no problem, they go in a flash. My first thought is the price is so much more, but really it isn’t. Plus the nutritional values difference is unmistakable.

Or you can make the same food at home for just about half the calories.

Did You Know that new smothered burrito from Taco Bell has 700 calories, 35 grams of fat, 2260 mg of sodium, and 68 carbs???!!?!!? Can you even believe it? The steak nachos have 1190 calories, 60 grams of fat and 117 carbs!!! Yes they are the most fattening items on the menu but I wanted to show you because I was shocked.

More examples come from McDonalds. Of course we have all heard how incredibly horrible the Big Mac is, right? It comes in at 550 calories, 29 grams of fat, 46 carbs, 25 g. protein. Now look at this: the SW Crispy Chicken McWrap is a whopping 670 calories, 33 grams of fat, 67 carbs!!!?? Shocking! Even the grilled version is 510 cals, 30 grams of fat and 53 carbs. So don’t be fooled thinking wraps are better.

I am not just picking on those two big name fast food chains either, let me be clear, all fast food should be avoided. In my, opinion, restaurant food too.

This has all been an eye opener. Like I said, of course we all know fast food is bad for you, but I did not realize the reality until I started reading the nutritional information. This goes for everything in the grocery too. Check them all! Don’t forget to take serving size in to account. ONE GREAT place for a calorie counter is MyFitnessPal. They make looking up nutritional info for all food, grocery and restaurant easy. You can also track all your meals, calories, food intake, etc.

One more tip – chips are still a weakness of mine, tortilla chips to be exact. Something interesting I learned in my quest to find a healthy chip – there really are no healthy chips, like none. 🙁

BUT I still allow for a few in my weekly menu. Important note – Tostitos Original are DOUBLE the calories and carbs as regular as classic yellow Doritos – which I think taste better anyway. I was kind of shocked to learn of it. If you compare the backs, the info looks the same but the serving size is double on the Doritos.

In all reality, I need to cut chips out. Any good alternatives that you know of?

Hope you are joining me in this quest for weight loss success! Stay tuned…

Created by MyFitnessPal – Free Calorie Counter

April 2, 2014