Snacks, Desserts, and Tips

I came up with some snack foods for the afternoon and evening. They can also be used for dessert.

Snacks and Desserts

--sliced apple or pear with either a little peanut or almond butter, or a small chunk of cheese

--strawberries or blackberries and a few almonds

--red pepper slices, celery, carrots, cucumber, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes- serve with a dip made of Greek yogurt mixed with onion soup mix or ranch mix

--Greek yogurt, sliced berries, almonds, agave syrup

--strawberries dipped in Greek yogurt then a little brown sugar

--a couple of turkey or ham roll-ups with lettuce or pickle slices

--small amount of dark chocolate chips

I will come up with some more.  The only thing we have to remember is not too eat too much throughout the day.  Make sure your snacks and even desserts have a protein component. I know it is important to eat every few hours but let's remember not to eat too much or we will gain weight.  Believe me, I know from experience.  Since we will be eating snacks and dessert, make sure that your lunch and dinner portion are small.  If you don't have snacks make your meal portions bigger.  Try to remember not to drink any calories if you can.  Let's go to bed as early as we can so we won't need that extra extra late night snack.  :)

Dinner

Dinner
We will be having chicken or beef whichever you choose, roasted vegetables, and a grain.  I like to roast all the veggies on big cookie sheets with olive oil, salt and pepper.  While they are roasting, make a big pot of either brown rice, barley, or quinoa.  I will use my rice cooker.  Cook it with some chicken broth or a bouillon cube for extra flavor if you'd like.  When it has cooled a little, transfer dinner portions into either ziplock baggies or plastic containers and freeze them all.  While the veggies are roasting and the rice is cooking, prepare your chicken, beef, or both.  I usually put olive oil, salt and pepper and bake them.  When all three things are done, you can line up plastic containers or ziplock bags and divide the food into them.  Every night just open a container or a bag and heat it all up on the stove in a big pan with a little olive oil.  It is really good.  Of course you can just make these dinners every night fresh if you want.  I promise that when you cook it all in an afternoon and freeze the meals, they taste like you just made them.  I know Dominick will want chicken a couple of nights in a row then maybe beef for a couple of days too.  I might do a store bought chicken if we run out of food.  Oh, I almost forgot!  When you heat up your meal, add teriyaki sauce, or bbq sauce, or any other seasonings you like so the meal tastes different and delicious for your husband.  :)

Monday Is A Coming :)

Anita texted me a very good point.  Our husbands are not going to want to eat the same thing for dinner every night for a week.  I just confirmed this with Dominick.  He said "Nobody wants to eat the same thing every day."  Glad he is so honest.   :)  It seems like breakfast and lunch can be the same, don't you think?  But we will need to change it up for dinner.  This blog is only for the four of us, so please text me or comment on the blog any other ideas or thoughts you have.

Lunch

I was thinking of making a huge bowl of chicken salad sometime this weekend.  This way lunch will be ready for the whole week.  I use the canned chicken from Costco.  My recipe is delicious but feel free to add or delete any ingredients.

4 cans Kirkland Chicken Breast
mayo
celery
green onions
grapes cut in half
toasted slivered almonds
lemon juice
pepper

I usually like to eat it plain but I am going to buy the Ezekiel bread from Costco in case I want a sandwich.  It is sprouted bread which is recommended on the Daniel Plan.  Make sure and eat a baggy full of cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, strawberries, or other fruits and veggies to round out your meal.

I'll work on dinner next.  :)

Breakfast and Morning Snack Week 1

I was thinking that we would eat the same foods every day of the first week.  I know this seems boring but it will make it easier to prep for the week instead of each day.  Our goal is to eat and drink whole foods that are in their most natural state.  The Daniel Plan also wants us to refrain from caffeine, sugar, and preservatives for the first six weeks.  I think this is a good idea.  I know that I am addicted to caffeine.  I didn't have any today and all day have felt lousy.  :-)

Breakfast
I propose that for breakfast we drink a protein shake.  This can be homemade or ones you have already purchased. You can add your favorite ingredients.  My favorite recipe is:

8oz milk or water

scoop protein powder 

1/4 cup almonds (or a tablespoon of peanut butter)

1 envelope Splenda 

a huge handful of spinach

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

ice

(sometimes I put half a banana)

This shake is really delicious.  I promise you will not taste the spinach.  Savannah will drink it if I serve it in an opaque cup with a lid and a straw.  She won't drink it if she sees it is green or brownish grey.  At first, I really disliked the taste of Muscle Milk but after I started adding an envelope of Splenda, I decided I like it a lot.

Snack

   Depending on what time you drink your shake, try to have a small snack around three hours later.  Let's have a small apple or half a Costco apple with a laughing cow cheese wedge or a small chunk of your favorite cheese.

I'll post lunch and dinner next.  :-)

Foods for Next Week

Look up the food list from www.DanielPlan.com.  It is on the main page. These are brain foods that should make up most of our eating plan.  We should buy and eat our favorite foods off this list.  Don't forget to eat protein with every meal and snack but not too much fat.  My mom and I will try to come up with some yummy recipes using these ingredients. Try to eat the lower glycemic fruits as much as possible.  The best fruits to eat are strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and jicama.  The fruits with the most sugar are bananas, oranges, mangoes, grapes, and melons.  Eat those sparingly.  Also, try not to eat corn, potatoes, white rice, pasta, bread, and tortillas.  If you are dying for a starch, have a little brown rice or quinoa, a corn tortilla, sprouted bread like Ezekiel, or a little whole wheat pasta.

Daniel Plan

I know its been a long long time since I've posted on my blog.  I had to post because I'm so excited for Monday.  On Monday at 6pm, two of my good friends, my mom, and I will be starting the Daniel Plan. What is the Daniel Plan you ask?  It is a healthy eating plan developed by Saddleback Church in Orange County.  Dr. Oz, Dr. Amen, and Dr. Hymen are world renowned doctors and specialists in their fields.  They came up with this plan to help the congregation at Saddleback, and Rick Warren, the pastor, lose excess weight and get healthy.  It is bible based and there are videos and study guides on the Daniel Plan website.   It is a six week study, followed by a lifetime commitment.  The Daniel Plan is not a diet.  It is a healthy way of eating and living.  It is a lifestyle change and a way of life.  It is for the whole family.  Weight loss is a natural by-product of the Daniel Plan.  The basic premise is to eat whole foods, move our bodies, and glorify the Lord.

We have the rest of the week to get ready for this new life long adventure.  We need to buy lots of fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, beans, and low fat dairy.  For the six week start, we will need to eliminate caffeine, sugar, and preservatives.  I'm so thankful the Lord has placed the four of us together to encourage and build each other up during this new way of eating.  I know we can do it!  Let's make it as fun and delicious as possible.  Love you guys.

Going Back to School

Wednesday is my official first day back at school. I am excited to meet my new group of kids. Kindergarten students are so precious and cute. They come in so young and inexperienced and leave reading and writing and ready for first grade. At the beginning of every school year, when I do my first assessments, I am always shocked at how little many of my kids know. It is not that they aren't smart. They are. It's just that they weren't taught anything. When I say anything, I mean the colors, how to write their name, numbers 0-5, or any letters. Although they have such a long road to go, most, if not all kids make incredible progress. It is really unbelievable. I always think of how far I could have taken them, if they had come in knowing some basic skills. This is my first year teaching full-day kindergarten. Although the kids will be with me much longer than with half-day kinder, they will be missing out on my partner teacher Laura. Now she is in a room across campus with her own full-day class. I truly believe two teachers with twenty-five kids at a time, is a much better ratio, and you can teach so much more, than one teacher with twenty-five students all day. I have a lot to do to get ready for Monday. Of course the first days back are planned full of meetings and professional development. All I want to do is work in my classroom. I am going to go in tomorrow to get a head start. Goodbye summer.