Mandy and Jace

For some reason I always forget that there are other ways to make potatoes other than mashed. I could seriously eat mashed potatoes for every meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, these potatoes come in second right under mashed potatoes. They are salty and tender and very, very good. You have to be careful not to overdo the salt. This recipe calls for rock salt which is the same salt you would use when you are making home made ice cream. Only use what the recipe calls for and if you don’t like things too salty you may put a little less. More is not better in this case. You can use any type of small potatoes in this recipe. I was originally going to use fingerling but my local grocery store was out so I used baby potatoes.



Salty Baby Potatoes
adapted from Alton Brown

1 pound rock salt
2 pounds baby potatoes, cleaned
2 quarts water
4 tablespoons butter
pepper
1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives

Put the potatoes, salt and water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook until they are fork tender, about 25 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the water, pour the butter over them and toss to coat. Top with pepper and chives. Serve immediately.

Can you believe we are almost done with January? It seems like yesterday I was planning my resolutions for this year. I am very proud to say that I am right on track. I have made it a point to run at least 5 days a week, I am eating healthier and taking time to myself. I have learned to do little things at a time that way they don’t all pile up on me. When I manage to do that I find that I have lots more time to sit and rest instead of spending hours cleaning and organizing. I am also realizing my priorities in life. I can either do 100 things decently, but not to the best of my ability, or I can do 10 things well. I would rather put aside the other 90 and focus on the 10.

Ok, enough rambling. This week I am trying a couple of new recipes. I am trying a vegetable casserole and a mandarin beef stir fry. If they turn out well I will be sure to post them here. Also, I am roasting two chickens. One to eat tonight and the other to cut up and use the leftovers.

Here’s this weeks plan.
Tonight: roasted chicken (brined and cooked like our turkey), fingerling potatoes and vegetable casserole
Tuesday: mandarin beef stir-fry with noodles
Wednesday: chicken pot pie (made with leftover roasted chicken)
Thursday: take out after practice
Friday: date night

Happy eating! What are you guys having this week?

A couple of years ago when I started to lose weight I decided that I didn’t want to “diet”. I knew if I did one of those fad diets where I deprive myself of the things I love I would fall right back after it was done. So I decided to make a lifestyle change. I started counting calories and gave myself 1500 calories a day. The first 6 months or so was killer. I was used to eating pizza, chicken fried steak and burgers for lunch and that just wasn’t going to cut it. Just one of those dishes exceeded my daily amount. I ate cereal for breakfast and salads for lunch but those got old pretty quickly. Soup became my best friend. I would either eat canned soup or if I had time I would make a big pot at the beginning of the week and eat it all week. I allowed myself one snack in the afternoon so I wasn’t starving before dinner. At dinner I went ahead and ate what I wanted just small portions and lots of veggies. I found by not depriving myself I didn’t binge when I actually did get to eat it.



It took about a year but I lost 12 lbs and now the 1500 calorie limit isn’t a problem anymore. I see foods in calories now. That juicy burger looks like 600 calories to me. That venti mocha frappuccino that I would get every day after lunch now looks like 500 calories. I was super organized back then but I kind of slacked off in the last 6 months. So I decided in order to lose that last 5 pounds I needed to get organized again. Now, at the beginning of we week I make, package and label all of my daily food except for dinner. I put everything in Tupperware or baggies and label the front of them with the calories, meal, day and time that I need to eat them. I give myself a little wiggle room if I go out to lunch with friends but otherwise I don’t eat anything that is not labeled for that time.




I have also started running. I am doing the Couch to 5k app on my iPhone. Hopefully at the end of this I can accomplish one of my goals and run a 5K. I have never been a runner so It’s a slow process for me but I’m doing well and between the organized food and running I have already lost 3 pounds.

My goal is to be healthy and fit. I only have this one body that God gave me and I feel like when I fill it with bad stuff I am not respecting Him. I read something the other day that I can’t get out of my head. He said, “It was on that day that I began to understand that I am a steward of the body (temple) that God has given me…and how I take care of it tells the world what I think and feel about Christ.” Talk about a slap in the face! You can read the rest of the article here and here.

I know my methods won’t work for everyone but I feel like you may be able to take little tidbits here and there and create your own healthy lifestyle. Remember it doesn’t happen over night. It took me a full year to lose some weight and get used to the lifestyle. I promise though, it is worth it. You will feel and look so much better and you will be so proud of yourself.

Good morning! We had another good weekend here. Jace’s mom is in town to see her family so we took her out to the shooting range to play a bit and Sunday we hung out with our amazing friends. I got to thinking the other night while I couldn’t sleep that I am truly in love with my life. God has blessed me with an amazing husband, a great family on both sides and awesome friends. I love that I can be my quirky self and no one cares. I was never the cookie cutter girl. I dress differently than most girls, I decorate differently, and I act differently but I want to say a big thank you to all my friends and family for embracing it and letting me grow into who I am now.

Ok, enough mushy stuff. Here’s this weeks meal plan.
Tonight: steak, mashed potatoes and corn
Tuesday: something on the run. We have a praise and worship conference at church.
Wednesday: pork fajita quesadillas
Thursday: take out after practice
Friday: date night

Happy eating! What are you guys eating this week?