Well, the snow is coming down in Utah and it’s wicked windy and cold!  We won’t be building any snowmen tomorrow, but when we do…will we use branches or fire wood…lol ?!

DON’T FORGET to register for our class this morning: 10 Little Known Ways to Speed Through Cold & Flu Season While Slashing Your Heath Care Costs!

This is a low-glycemic version of the classic. I am slowing introducing my family to eating low-glycemic, however, sometimes they don’t like change or are slow to appreciate it.  So I have been starting with little changes with me.  I eat low-glycemic version of the meal or replace the main dish of the meal with their regular sides. They always try my food and ask for more. They usually say rave about the low-glycemic item of the meal.  Slowly, we are changing the way we all eat, baby steps.  The first time I made this spaghetti,  I made regular noodles for them and these squash noodles for me for dinner that night.  They all wanted to try my noodles and ended liking the squash noodles better.  Last time I made this, we all had the noodles.  It is delicious and surprisingly filling.  Yea for baby steps!

Low-Glycemic Spaghetti By: HealthyMomsKitchen.com Rating: The secret ingredient is using Spaghetti Squash in place of noodles. Use your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce on top a bed of spaghetti noodles for a low glycemic version of the classic! 191 Views

Directions

Makes: 6 servings

Step 1

Cut spaghetti squash in half length-wise. Place on foil lined pan, face down. Roast in over on 350 degrees for 40 mins or until squash is soft and a little golden. Remove from oven and wait until squash has cooled.

Ingredients:

1 whole Spaghetti Squash

Step 2

Then use a fork to flake the squash from its rind into a bowl. It will look just like spaghetti.

Step 3

Top with your favorite prepared spaghetti sauce, jarred or homemade.

Tags

Lunch/Dinner

Entree

North American

30-60 Min

To view the recording of our Dr. Mom Class, click here: http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=26196753.

I find the science part of the presentation fascinating, but if you want to skip to the application part, skip to about a third of the way in.  I know you’ll find many simple effective uses for essential oils and I’ll be sharing many of them on Wellness Wednesday, among other topis, like how to reduce the little (or HUGE) organization stresses in your home.

If you can’t WAIT for more info, register for our next class (Friday morning): 10 Little Known Ways to Speed Through Cold & Flu Season While Slashing Your Heath Care Costs.  My good friend Joyce, the Nurse Coach Online will be leading the class.

I went searching my usual spot for recipes – Pinterest – for Cauliflower Soup recipes and loved this recipe, but needed to make a few adjustments based on what I had on hand.  First time my daughter would actually eat cauliflower.  It’s her least favorite vegetable.  I LOVED this recipe, my husband liked it, my 2 year old totally gagged (a texture thing) and my 5 year old said she liked it but didn’t eat a ton.

All in all, this is a great low glycemic soup recipe!  Now I’m wondering what it would have tasted like with some Greek yogurt stirred in for added protein.  As is with many soups, anticipate needing your second serving a couple hours after dinner.

*Creamy Cauliflower Soup By: HealthyMomsKitchen.com Source: Adapted from Annies-Eats Rating: 343 Views

Directions

Makes: 6 servings

Step 1

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in large soup pot. Add onion & garlic and saute until golden.

Ingredients:

2 Butter, 2 tablespoons

1 small Onion, chopped

1 teaspoon Minced Garlic

Step 2

Add chicken or vegetable bouillon and cauliflower. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-6 minutes.

Ingredients:

head Cauliflower, cut into small pieces

3 cups Vegetable Bouillon, or chicken bouillon

Step 3

Turn the burner off and use your immersion blender to blend some, but not all of the cauliflower. Add 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

Ingredients:

3⁄4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Tags

Lunch/Dinner

Soup

North American

15-30 Min

If you caught my latest clip on 2 News Fresh Living (titled: Change Your Eating Habits, For Good), you'll know that I recommend planning everything you eat for the week around FRESH produce.  It's the best way to ensure in you get a lot more fresh produce in your diet and a secure way to bet you'll be releasing more weight!  I typically have 2-3 veggies for each meal to plan around, but when I only have one, we also will have whole grains, like barley, bulgar or quinoa.  Also, this week, you'll see a lot of leftovers in my menu plan.  I don't anticipate that busy moms are cooking from scratch for every meal.  Plan to make double portions if you have a bigger family than I do so that your leftovers can be put to use in other meals.  For lunch on Monday, I'll be cutting up double veggies to use for the Taco Salad as well, so all I will need to do for dinner is cook the meat and beans.

I think the Stir Fry and Cannelini Bean Soup will use most of my cabbage, but I will probably still have some left, so I looked up some other recipes calling for cabbage to reference back to just in case.  To be honest, this was the only one I was excited about:

Cabbage Soup (I've never seen a red cabbage soup!  This is worth a try).

I don't remember ever getting fresh blueberries from Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op before!  We've certainly gotten plenty of black and raspberries, so this was a fun surprise!!  My kids of course inhaled one package already. This week, we also got:

FRUITS little baby Fuji apples (the kids were tickled over their little size) oranges blueberries

VEGGIES Romaine lettuce cabbage tomatoes red bell peppers green bell peppers onions asparagus green beans

I was happy with the veggie heavy week because we still have quite a bit of fruits from last week!  We've been having bowls full of fresh fruit medley each day and will continue that this week (simply cut up oranges, apples, bananas, pears, kiwi).

Here are some fun healthy blueberry ideas from Pinterest.

I can't decide if I should make my Blueberry Banana Muffins, or try this Baked Oatmeal with Blueberry & Banana recipe.  If you make this one, use Old-Fashioned Oats rather than quick oats to make it lower glycemic (basically meaning, it will keep you full longer because it takes your body longer to break down; also great for weight release because it won't spike your blood sugar as much – helping your body to naturally burn fat).

                                             This Blueberry French Toast Bake needs a serious makeover but looks divine!

Blueberry Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal

Oh my word!  Do you need any convincing to try this one?!  Now…I just wish I had mangoes.  I think the Tropical Pack had one in it.  Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing Recipe Summertime Salad (just leave off the strawberries if you don't have them).

I'll get my full menu plan up later.  I'm up for a massage this morning…which means I'll probably be so relaxed and get a nap afterward.  Ahhhh!  I can't wait!  I'll also be doing plenty of reading today (finishing up Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven).  Tonight is date night!

What are you doing to nourish yourself this weekend?

I loved the Bountiful Baskets Food Coop organic basket last week so much that I decided to get one again this week. Since Nisha is doing a menu based on the conventional basket, I thought I’d make one based on the organic basket. I’ve also got quite a bit of produce still in my fridge because I got both the conventional and organic basket last week. Here’s what we received in the basket and what we’ve got planned at our house:

Vegetables: Green leaf lettuce, onions, cherry tomatoes, avocados, collard greens, potatoes, broccoli, sugar snap peas! (shouting for joy about the sugar snap peas – yum!)

Fruits: Kiwi, blueberries, lemons, Winesap apples

Sunday – Create your own salad night. Sometimes the younger children don’t want to eat the salad I’ve prepared, so it is easier to lay out the pieces and let them create whatever they want. Here’s what I’ll lay out: chopped romaine, cherry tomatoes, avocado (from last week), tangelos (from a few weeks ago), oranges (last week), spinach, cheese, croutons, grilled chicken, dressings.

Monday – Homemade version of takeout making grilled veggie/beef burgers, homemade onion rings, roasted potatoes, fruit salad (use apples, blueberries, kiwi)

Tuesday – Lentil Taco Salad (use lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocados if ripe)

Wednesday – Chicken Stir Fry If you haven’t tried this recipe, you’ve got to. It is one of my favorites! Use sugar snap peas and broccoli along with any other random “stir fry” vegetables you have leftover in your fridge. I have zucchini and carrots.

Thursday – My family practically begs for a pasta night, so we’ll place it here along with Sautéed Collard Greens

Friday – Birthday “Master Chef” party for my oldest daughter with several of her friends. We will be breaking into teams to create yummy food – Pizza using whole wheat pizza crust, salads, and cupcakes.

Saturday – Celebrating our 13^th Wedding Anniversary (it’s actually the 29^th which is also the same day as my daughter’s birthday, so we are making a weekend of parties) – I am not cooking!

Enjoy your basket this week. What yummy recipes do you have planned?

Are you with T-Rex?  I actually LOVE push-ups!  My arms were the sexiest the summer I did the Hundred Pushups Challenge.  Truth be told, I never got to 100 and…I did girl pushups !  Pushups are a great full body workout.  I think Bethany would tell you not to do them until your diastasis is healed. But if you don’t have that concern and you want sexy arms, the Hundred Pushups plan is such a simple, time-effective way for buff hott arms!  Are you up for it?

Heather here filling in for Nisha while she is at a business retreat.  Bountiful Baskets rarely disappoints at this house.  We got a great variety of fruits and vegetables for only $16.50!  If you haven’t taken advantage of Bountiful Baskets for a great deal on produce, check out their website www.bountifulbaskets.org.  This weekend, the conventional basket included:

Vegetables: Broccoli, red leaf lettuce, cauliflower, tomatoes, avocados, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.

Fruits: bananas, kiwi, clementines, pineapple, and watermelon.

The vegetables this week will make some great dinner side dishes.  My 6-year-old was so excited about the cauliflower!  Kids excited about fresh produce makes me happy.

 Brussels sprouts – if you don’t like them, then you may try cooking them differently.  I was not a huge fan of Brussels sprouts until I learned some fun ways to prepare them.  The easiest way to prepare Brussels sprouts is to cut off the ends, slice in half, blanch then  sauté in a little bit of olive oil and garlic.  A woman I volunteered with at Bountiful Baskets on Saturday said to score the end and put them in a roasting pan with baby carrots, olive oil and onions at 425 degrees.

 I am continuing a cleanse this week.  What a great way to reset good eating habits during the winter months and after the holidays.  The dinner menu plan below will be what my family will be eating; I’ll mostly be eating steamed veggies, fresh fruit and salads w/vinaigrette.  If you are interested in a Healthy Transformation and/or doing a
cleanse, check out My Healthy Transformation.  I participated in this program last January and it was fantastic.

Sunday – Dinner at the in-laws.  I will be bringing an extra-large salad

Monday – Chicken Tortilla Soup Use some fresh Bountiful Baskets tomatoes instead of the
canned if you want to use them up.  If you are going for weight release, omit the tortilla chips.

Tuesday – Chicken Rolls, roasted cauliflower.  This is a total splurge for my family, but it
is my son’s birthday and the kids love them!

Wednesday – Ham and Broccoli Quiche, roasted Brussels sprouts.

 Thursday – Broccoli Cheddar Soup To make the recipe healthier, substitute milk for the half and half, reduce the amount of cheese.

Friday – Traditional Pizza and Movie night at our house, served with a green salad and some fresh veggies on the side.  I make a whole wheat pizza crust, but use all whole wheat flour because I grind it fresh.

Saturday – Beef Stroganoff (use Greek yogurt instead of yogurt), salad

Because I am participating in a cleanse and needed a lot of produce, I purchased an organic basket in addition to the conventional.  In the past I haven’t been as pleased with
the organic baskets, but this week (and last) the organic baskets have been fantastic.  For $25 it is quite a deal for organic produce.  Here’s what the organic basket contained and some ideas on how to use this produce:

 Vegetables: Rainbow chard, green leaf lettuce, spinach, broccoli rabe, tomatoes, cauliflower, potatoes

 Fruit: 2 small containers of blackberries, 1 bag Red Delicious apples, oranges, grapefruit, and bananas.

 Rainbow Chard – I love this mixed with spinach, berries and bananas in green smoothies.

Broccoli Rabe: Maria’s Broccoli Rabe is how I’ll be preparing mine

 Blueberries (if they make it long enough to become a dish – at my house they are consumed quickly!) Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

 Blueberries & bananas: (these are so good!) Blueberry Banana Muffins – these are so good!

Spinach – Spinach Eggs make a great breakfast or main dish

 Potatoes: Fiesta Frittata

 Tomatoes: Baked Parmesan Tomatoes look interesting

 Cauliflower:  Basil Cauliflower Pizza looks like fun

Heather has been sending me some funny pics for Fitness Friday and I had to post this Zumba-themed image.  The first thing I hear out of anyone’s mouth when the topic of Zumba comes up is “okay…I’ll go but I’m standing in the back!  I have NO rhythm!”

Even though I have rhythm, I still look like the girls in this pic.  It takes time to learn all the routines, make sure you’re turning the right way, not bonking into your friends.  It’s hilarious, but it’s SO MUCH FUN!  My response to them when people say, “but I can’t dance!” is “Who cares?!  Everyone is focusing on trying to get the choreography down that no one is watching you!”  And, it’s true.  So, if you haven’t tried Zumba yet, DO IT!  It’s seriously a party.  I feel like it’s “mom clubbin”…lol !

Stay tuned for more Fit Friday Funnies and don’t forget to “pin” this so more people can get a laugh!