Hope you enjoy today's healthy low-calorie selections!
meal plan to lose weight
Meal Plan to Lose Weight Day 32
Quick Healthy Breakfast
Organic 8-Grain Cereal with Real Maple Syrup, Walnuts and Raisins
Craving something wholesome for breakfast? Try this hot bowl of goodness with organic 8-grain, real maple syrup, walnuts and raisins. It has sweetness, crunchiness and healthiness. Pretty much, the best quick healthy breakfast for any day of the week.
Mixing flavors is a wonderful way to keep healthy snacking fun--and this bowl of grapes and blue cheese turns sweet grape and sharp blue cheese into a delicious mouthful.
Healthy lunch shouldn't be complicated. An egg and tuna salad on whole wheat bread is a great way to obtain protein and wholesome grain with good taste.
If you crave ice-cream but dislike the fat and calories, a cup of frozen Greek yogurt is just what you're looking for. It's sweet and creamy but has less calories and fat. Plus, Greek yogurt is full of protein and calcium.
Calories: 140
Fat: 2.5
Protein: 6 g
Carbs: 25 g
meal plan to lose weight meal plan to lose weight meal plan to lose weight
Broiled Chicken Breast with Italian Seasoning Over Mixed Spring Greens in Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil Dressing, Sprinkled with Grated Parmesan
This salad is a mouthful to say and a mouthful of flavor too. It's got supple chicken, hearty greens and tangy balsamic dressing. It's perfect for dinner.
Calories: 416
Fat: 26.4 g
Protein: 34.8 g
Carbs: 9.5
meal plan to lose weight meal plan to lose weight meal plan to lose weight
Summary of Nutritional Information for Today's Weight Loss Meal Plan
Calories: 1163
Fat: 60.9 g
Protein: 96.8 g
Carbs: 57.5 g
meal plan to lose weight
If you want more healthy weight loss ideas and meals, do sign up for email -- the spot is right above the post.
See you next time!
Original article and pictures take dietmealplans.blogspot.ca site
Every time we drive from Nebraska to California, we stop in Denver the first night to stay with friends and we stop in Vegas the next night to stay with friends. It cuts our travel costs and we get to see people we love!
It was in Vegas one year that our youngest left behind his backpack full of clothes and toiletries. We were all the way to Bakersfield before my friend discovered it and texted, “Uh-oh! I just found Malachi’s backpack in the boys’ room.” Guess who had to wear his cousin’s clothes all week? Eh, it could have been worse.
And not to throw my friend Robin under the bus, but I just saw on Facebook that she recently went on a trip and assumed her husband had thrown her bag into the trunk of their car. She made it all the way to their destination before she realized that one should never, ever assume.
Bagless, Robin headed to Walmart to get everything she needed for (wait for it) her mom’s wedding. #nobigdeal
Want a Master Travel Packing List?
I’ll venture to say that this Master Travel Packing List we’ve put together for you won’t be of any help if you don’t follow through with actually putting the bag into the car with you. But at least this can help ensure that you don’t forget to pack your toothbrush.
Every time we go on a trip, I always say to myself, “Well if we’ve forgotten anything, at least there’s a Wal-Mart.” But that doesn’t work very well for items like prescriptions and eyeglasses. And also, who wants to run to Wal-Mart to buy what we already own?
So to remedy that for you today, we’ve created a Master Travel Packing List.
Obviously, some of the items you can scratch right off the list and some of the items you’ll need to fill in that are specific to your family and situation. But seeing as all year ’round many of us hit the road, we thought this would be a helpful resource to hand out.
Kudos to my friend Kim for helping put this together for all of us!
It looks like this, it’s as simple as can be, and it’s free for the taking…
Get your Master Travel Packing List
Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site
For everyone who is home with a family to feed during lunchtime every day, this List of Simple Lunch Ideas is for you! These lunches are all made with simple, real foods. (Coming soon: A list of great simple, real food lunches to pack and take to work and school.)
As a brand new school year approaches and I am praying away the scheduling craze that is trying to creep in along with the turning of the calendar pages, I’ve decided to put together Master Lists of food and recipes and ideas to make lunches, breakfasts, snacks, and lunchbox options as simple as possible each day. Today’s list:
But Laura! You home school and work from home so you’re home all day. Why is it difficult to get food on the table?
{And Laura falls on the floor laughing and crying and kicking the chairs in her path while throwing couch pillows.}
Dear friends. Homeschooling only means that our books and software live in the house and our school is operated out of the home instead of a classroom. We are on the run a significant amount of time between music lessons, college classes, field trips, service opportunities, athletic events, church activities, library runs, and the like.
For our family, homeschooling and working from home has offered us the coolest, most wonderful, and fabulously flexible opportunity and we are extremely grateful for the relationships we have with our kids and with the community because of it. But it also lends itself to extremely full days with little down time. So in the name of sanity…
The short answer is that it would cost my family too much money. The other short answer is that we prefer more variety of nutrients and less carb-heavy meals.
No matter what though, I recommend that we always, always…
We’ll begin with fruits and veggies because instead of thinking of them second, let’s start thinking of them first!
Fruits and veggies that can be pulled from the fridge and served immediately with little to no prep (beyond washing):
Baby carrots (I like the petite carrots – they are sweeter and easier to eat!)
Grape tomatoes
Mini sweet peppers
Sugar snap peas
Strawberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Unsweetened Applesauce
Bananas
Grapes
Oranges
Clementines
Fresh Spinach or Mixed Greens
Fruits and veggies that take a few minutes of prep but are still super simple:
Sliced apples
Sliced peaches or nectarines
Steamed peas (frozen peas cook very quickly!)
Sliced cucumbers
Sliced sweet peppers
Raw broccoli “trees”
Cut cantaloupe
Watermelon wedges
Sliced pears
Pineapple chunks
Steamed green beans (frozen green beans take just a few minutes, but can cook themselves while you get the remainder of lunch ready)
If you have Homemade Ranch Dip or Hummus on hand, these can be thrown onto the table quickly to help get the veggies down!
Simple Lunches that can be made ahead of time and warmed up quickly:
Black Bean Salsa (No need to warm this up! Just take a few minutes to put this together, refrigerate, then pull it out and serve!)
Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas (These only take about 15 minutes to put together from start to finish. Make them ahead and bake as needed.)
Simple Lunches that can be thrown together with little prep time:
Homemade Pizza (I’ve been buying ready-made whole wheat pizza crusts from Azure Standard and they are awesome! I can make Homemade Pizza Crusts to keep in the freezer, but I don’t have time right now, so purchased crusts for the win!)
Quesadillas
Simple Crock Pot Pizza Casserole (take 5 minutes to put this together in your crock pot during breakfast; then serve it at lunchtime!)
Turkey and Cheese Melts (use leftover bread or buns, top them with lunch meat and cheese, then melt them under a broiler for 2-3 minutes)
Simple Lunches that are flexible and can be eaten in more than one way:
Chili (served on baked potatoes, hot dogs, or in a bowl by itself!)
Would you like to make this Master List of Simple Lunches even simpler?
Sign up here to receive the entire Master List of Simple Lunches in a free downloadable document! Then you can keep it handy on your computer or print it and put it on your fridge as a super handy reference!
Watch for more Master Lists coming this month, filled with real food and simple snacks, breakfasts, and lunch box ideas!
What would you add to the list? What are your favorite simple lunches to feed your family?
Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site
Who is ready to download the Master List of Simple Breakfast Ideas?!
Hopefully you already grabbed the Master List of Simple Lunch Ideas. I’m covering my fridge with these lists to make our transition from summer break to a school schedule a little bit easier. If you haven’t already, be sure to get your lunch list here!
Note: If possible I try to always serve a protein of some sort for breakfast. I also always serve fruit. I’ll begin this Master Breakfast List with the protein and fruit lists that I typically serve with everything else on the list!
If you have Quick Mix on hand, you can quickly make:
Would you like to make this Master List of Simple Breakfast Ideas even simpler?
Sign up here to receive the entire Master List of Simple Breakfast Ideas in a free downloadable document! Then you can keep it handy on your computer or print it and put it on your fridge as a super handy reference!
Watch for more Master Lists coming this month, filled with real food and simple snacks and lunch box ideas!
What would you add to the list? What are your favorite simple breakfast foods to feed your family?
P.S. What about a simple dinner list? We’ve already got that covered with our Weekly Simple Meals Plans!
Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site
Even in winter, my family can consume ice cream by the gallon.
The store bought ice cream has really cool reusable buckets, but the ingredients in there are not what I want to feed them, especially on a regular basis. My wonderful hubby helped me solve the problem, and we went ahead and purchased the ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer.
Here is the recipe I used:
2 1/2 cups of raw milk
2 1/2 cups of raw cream
1 cup pure maple syrup
8 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
First, I mixed the cream and milk together.
You don’t have to really use cream and milk, you can just use milk if you want, making it 5 cups. The cream does add an extra bit of creamy texture to it, though. Also, you really don’t have to use raw milk, you CAN use store bought milk, and I promise I won’t look Then, I stirred up the egg yolks.
Added vanilla and salt to the yolks and then mixed into the milk/cream mixture.
Poured into the ice cream freezer. 20 minutes later and viola! Homemade ice cream!
Now, I should really tell you that the original recipe calls for simmering the cream, milk and eggs together, then chilling for several hours.
If you choose to use store bought eggs, you might want to consider that route. Since I am not afraid of raw eggs from my chickens (I know how and what they are fed) then I don’t worry about that step. All the ingredients are already well chilled, so I just pour it in. The original recipe also calls for “ripening” the ice cream in the freezer for a few hours, but I am not able to get my family to understand that, so they eat it soft serve style. It’s still really good, just a bit runnier.
Be sure to pin this to your favorite board for later!
Original article and pictures take thehomesteadinghippy.com site
This healthy dairy free smoothie is bursting with fresh citrus and mango flavor! It’s packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber, and makes a great and quick breakfast!
How are you all doing after the time change? Am I the only one that is still a bit thrown off?
We’ve been going to bed later, because there’s still so much light (hooray!), and therefore getting up later. Which isn’t a huge deal – everyone is still getting the same amount of sleep. But for some reason every day feels like a weekend now, and I need a little boost to get moving in the morning!
This smoothie has been perfect. It’s a healthy combo of strawberries, mango, a clementine, and hemp seeds. The flavor is fresh and bright, and the fiber helps keep me full all morning long.
This easy smoothie has lots of vitamin C from the clementine, mango, and strawberries, and it also has a healthy dose of vitamin A from the mangos. These vitamins may help contribute to healthy skin, eyes, and heart, in addition to boosting the immune system. And it’s delicious! An easy way to get lots of vitamins in at the start of your day.
Mamas, Your Baby Needs Skin to Skin Contact More than Anything After Birth
The very first moments after birth, when the baby is still attached to the mom by the umbilical cord, are a part of the birth process and important for both the mom and baby. In modern medicine, as soon as the baby is born and transitioning to breathing, mom and baby are treated as separate entities, the cord being cut quickly and often the baby is whisked away to be wiped off and dried, a hat put on, and vitals taken. All this happens while mom delivers the placenta, often with medical intervention through Pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) and sometimes cord traction.
After the exhaustion of pushing, mom often doesn’t have the energy to protest if the baby is swept away, and without understanding the crucial role that the baby pays in the 3rd stage of birth and the mom plays in regulating the baby’s heart rate, temperature, and breathing as it starts to breathe, she may not realize that it’s even a problem.
Skin-to-skin contact for both baby and mom after birth is natural and healthy. Placing the baby directly on mom, without wrapping him in a blanket or putting a hat on him first, allows the baby to adjust from life in the womb to life outside with the help of mom’s natural body heat, heartbeat, and breath rate. Baby is comforted by her familiar smell and voice.
Oxytocin, the love hormone, flows freely when mom holds her newborn and smells his sweet baby head, this helps the body to release the placenta and then create the needed contractions to expel it and clamp down on the freshly severed blood vessels. (source)
Delaying cord clamping (covered in chapter 25 of The Empowered Mother) also helps the placenta to be delivered easily, and the baby to get more oxygenated blood, decreases his later risk of anemia, and allows him to get more stem cells (source) as he transitions to breathing on his own. Most umbilical cords are long enough for baby to easily reach his mother’s chest for his first breastfeed.
Questions to discuss Prior to Birth:
How would the 3rd stage look for me in different birthing positions (kneeling, squatting, all fours, laying back in bed, etc)?
Does my care provider normally do cord traction, fundal massage, or cord clamping before the placenta is delivered?
Is it important to me to know how much the baby weighs immediately?
Is my care provider comfortable performing the newborn exam while the baby lays on my chest?
Original article and pictures take healthhomeandhappiness.com site
I always hated it when my son was sick. It made me nervous because I knew I didn’t want to use conventional pharmaceuticals – whether over-the-counter or by prescription. There was always pressure from family members to use these toxic substances at the first sign of an illness. This motivated me to learn about traditional home remedies that were used by mothers and grandmothers for centuries before the emergence of Big Pharma.
Natural remedies can be made at home at very little cost. If you are on a budget, you will need some basic supplies from which many remedies can be made very cheaply. It seems that we now have a big box pharmacy at almost every block. I don’t buy too many items at these types of stores, but it’s easy to see the cost can add up very quickly.
Advantages of Home Remedies
Another advantage of home remedies is that you can administer the remedy immediately and not wait for a doctor visit or have to go out in the middle of the night to a pharmacy when your child is ill. You become doctor-mom.
Importantly, natural home remedies work with the immune system not against it. It’s important to have remedies and procedures on hand to work with the child’s body to manage the illness. The child will emerge from the illness stronger and healthier without the use of toxic medicines.
When a child is brought up in a home that uses home remedies, they come to respect the knowledge their parents and caregivers have. They are confident you can help them when they are not feeling well. They rely on you.
In turn, you become more confident as a caregiver and this strengthens your bond with your children.
Save Time and Money by Getting All You Need in One Place
If you are interested in learning more about natural home remedies, you can save oodles of cash In the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle available through September 15 only.
There are over 8 books (out of the 78) that deal with natural remedies of some kind, be it herbal, traditional, real food, etc. There is even a video ecourse devoted to the world of herbs.
You just can’t go wrong.
You can easily incorporate these methods in your life to improve the health of your family.
There is one caution I do want to mention – well said by Sarah Pope, in her newly released book, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families. (included in the bundle). She has a section called When Home Remedies are Not Appropriate. She covers three main events that would require immediate medical care. They include trauma, extremely high fevers and difficulty breathing.
Using your common sense and comfort level can also guide you. That said, most of the time you can use your remedies from tradition and your natural medicine cabinet.
Powerful Remedies from Common Household Ingredients
It is very exciting to start learning about the healing properties of common household items.
I love Sarah Pope’s (The Healthy Home Economist), onion poultice remedy for chest congestion in her ebook, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families. It’s so easy – just chop up 2 onions and some ginger, saute lightly, place in a dish towel and place on the chest of the patient. Alternatively, it can be placed on the feet of the patient to draw the congestion out of the lungs.
This and so many other great and simple home remedies are in her book!
Another very simple yet powerful remedy is Thyme Oxymel. Don’t get put off by the language – an oxymel is simply a medicinal drink.
According to Natalie Vickery (The Family Herbalist) in her ebook, Herbal Preparation and Applications, this remedy can be used as a gargle for sore throats, respiratory infections, whooping cough, lung congestion, damp coughs, urinary tract infections and colds and flu.
Aromatic herbs like Thyme are stimulating which allow them to get things moving or increase function. Increased function in the digestive system helps to increase appetite and promote digestion. Aromatic herbs are also Carminative which means they help to prevent or expel gas and therefore reduce bloating. All Carminative herbs are antispasmodics meaning they help to reduce cramping, griping and spasms in the gut. This would mean that Thyme would make a wonderfully effective digestive tea when there is griping, a feeling of stagnation, bloating and flatulence.
Here is the recipe and instructions:
Thyme Oxymel
1⁄2 cup of dried or 3⁄4 cup of fresh Thyme
3⁄4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1⁄4 cup honey
Place the Thyme in a small jar and completely cover with Apple Cider Vinegar. Add honey and stir. Cover the jar with either plastic wrap or a plastic lid (ACV will corrode metal) and set aside for 2-4 weeks. Strain off the Thyme, rebottle and you have yourself a Thyme Oxymel.
I don’t know about you but I have quite a lot of thyme growing in my garden and now I can actually do something with it other than in food!
Tons of Information on Home Remedies
In addition to the ebooks, there are 2 ecourses included in the bundle that may interest you here:
Shoshanna Easling introduces you to the wonderful world of herbs! She will take you into the wild, where you can identify herbs, learn what they are good for and how to make teas, tinctures, poultices, salves, and more in these captivating DVD downloads.
The value of these 2 video downloads are almost $30.00 – more than the bundle itself with all the other items!
Additionally, there is a video ecourse called Essential Oils and Natural Health that is valued at $95.00! – way over the cost of the bundle.
This one is a no brainer folks. Purchase the bundle for 29.95, get the bonus (es) AND all the ebooks and ecourses!
Oh, and don’t forget, when you order the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle through this link, you also get a gift from me – my self paced online video class, Go Grain Free that has over 80 videos and over 150 grain free recipes! Just email me after you purchase the bundle!
It wasn’t easy becoming a stay-at-home mom. I remember being in college dreaming about how awesome my career was going to be. I dreamed of the big fancy promotions, leadership roles, and making a difference in the lives of others. Being a nurse was both a practical career path, as well as a rewarding one.
When I left my nursing job in the Midwest to be with my now husband in North Carolina, I think many of my peers were baffled that I would leave my growing position for a some guy in the Marine Corps. Turns out that ‘guy’ became my husband, but that’s a whole other blog post! I think many of them would be even more baffled to learn that I left nursing all together shortly after my son was born.
But here’s the kicker…
Becoming a stay-at-home mom was a no-brainer when the time came. My life as a military wife is filled with ups and downs and tons of inconsistency, and my job as a staff nurse was filled with crazy hours that made child care a strain. Between 12 hour shifts and commuting an hour each way, I was often gone for 14+ hours each day I worked. For our family it just wasn’t going to work. The stress wasn’t worth it. While the decision to become a stay-at-home mom was certainly the best decision for our family, it still took me a while to make peace with it all.
Here are 5 ways I learned to let the career go and make peace with my stay-at-home mom status:
Staying at home isn’t less important.
When I reflect on starting my career as a nurse, I often remember how I wanted to ‘help people.’ So cliché, yet so true. Well now I’m helping 3 people each and every day—my husband, my son, and myself. Because being at home makes all our lives easier and less stressful.
Life is crazy, and one stay-at-home parent offers our household a constant through all the ups and downs in our life. When my husband is away, my kids can count on me through each and every difficult moment. My husband can also count on me to manage our household and care for our kids without a worry. Years down the road, this will matter. My career will wait.
Doing something for myself matters.
Taking a day for myself is highly encouraged. I’ve said this so many times before. I’m not afraid to take some much needed time to recharge, even if it is only for a few hours. Being a full-time mom is challenging, and it’s easy to lose yourself in the midst of chaos. Taking time away matters, and it helps me feel good about the choice to stay home.
This is a short season in life.
One day my kids will walk out that door never to come back quite the same. I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. You know, treasure every moment? Blah, blah, blah.
I hate to say it, but all those cheesy people might be right. These days really are so fleeting. Some days I pick up my independent toddler and hold him in my arms just like I would a baby. His arms and legs dangling well beyond my own arms, I am reminded that he is already so big.
It was only one year ago when he was nestled on my chest unable to do a single thing independently. In the future, I will look back and treasure these early years we spent together.
Work isn’t going anywhere.
In a few years or in a decade, when I decide to return to nursing, a job will be there. The work, the money, the crazy hours—all of it will still exist. There’s no need to lose sleep or wonder if I will have a fancy career again because right now my career is raising up a little boy and a sweet girl who both need me.
Print this free self-care for moms checklist.
This post comes with a free printable checklist to help with prioritize taking care of YOU. I always have the hardest time remembering these ideas. This printable simplifies it!
One of these things is not like the the other. Someone, who shall remain nameless,
forgot to cut a donut hole in one of the donuts. Hmmm…
Indeed. We can mix up the pumpkin donuts, roll out the dough, cut the shapes, then freeze the uncooked dough on parchment paper or silicone mat-lined cookie sheets. We transfer the frozen dough into freezer bags, then any time we want fresh donuts (and when would we not want fresh donuts?), we can grab some out of the freezer and fry them up fresh to eat while sipping a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.
Can you think of a better breakfast treat to enjoy this fall than fresh homemade Pumpkin Donuts?
The best part is that the mixing, rolling, cutting, and clean up will have already been taken care of! Well, clearly the best part is eating the fresh donuts. But eating the fresh donuts without looking at a messy kitchen that you’ll have to clean up afterward? Fabulous.
Make-Ahead Pumpkin Donuts
3½ cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard or soft white wheat)
Oil for frying (I recommend coconut oil or palm shortening for healthy frying)
GLAZE:
2 cups powdered sugar (I use unbleached powdered sugar)
Wow. Who knew we would ever be able to say, “I need some healthy fats in my diet. Please pass the donuts.”
But of course, let us not ever eat more donuts than veggies, yada, yada. You know the drill.
WAIT. There are veggies in these donuts (thank you, pumpkin, for being there for us when we need you). So I guess we can enjoy these to our heart’s delight, all while enjoying the fact that you can make them ahead and freeze them for ease in the kitchen.
This is what I call one happy fall recipe!
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Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site
