Recipe Wednesday On Thursday

Once again, I thank my lucky stars for Pinterest while on this low carb diet.  Lately, I have been missing sweets like crazy.  I think my body knows it is getting to be that time of year when sweets are all around.  Before I get into the recipe for the week though, I will share the promised after photos with you for the tree.

So, there you have the photos of the tree and the bushes we planted.  As you can see, this is going to be our fire pit seating area.  Once the bushes get bigger, we should have some nice privacy.

My recipe for the week from Pinterest is Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Sound good, don't they?  The best part of these is that they only have four ingredients and you don't have to go out and buy anything special.  That is the one gripe I have about low carb cooking/baking is that I could currently have about 20 different types of flour in the house if I followed every single recipe.



The four ingredients are:
1 C. Peanut Butter
1 Egg
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
Sprinkle of chocolate chips

mix all together and drop onto a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for around 8 to 10 minutes. 

We Will Watch It Grow

I think I mentioned before that we were planning to plant a tree in the back yard that would eventually provide shade to the deck.  Since it finally cooled off enough to be outside and not feel like dying from the heat, we decided this was the weekend to plant a tree! 

We picked out an Silver Linden tree.  We initially picked out a different type of Linden tree, but then we were told that it is highly attractive to the Japanese Beetles.  We didn't want to deal with keeping them at bay each year, so we went with a variety that they seem to leave alone. 

It took a Bobcat to get the tree into the truck, and we thought we could get it to the backyard with no problem.  I'm not sure what we were thinking, but the tree made it to the back yard.  I'm sure our neighbors were entertained by us this weekend.   

Here is the tree in the driveway.  We were able to bring it down out of the truck and then roll it to the backyard.  Andrew used a metal hook to grab on to the metal stakes in the root ball and pull it while I hung on to the trunk of the tree.  We managed to get it back to the hole we dug. 

 

Maya inspecting the dirt pile.  This is right before the tree went in. 

 

The pile of dirt we dug out from the hole

 

Andrew working on the hole.

 

A better look at the tree. 

 

 

Alright, I just realized I forgot to take a true after picture, so I will try and get a picture tomorrow night for you.  The tree looks so good in its new home, and I can't wait to watch it grow. 

 

We also worked on planting our privacy hedge for our fire pit area this weekend.  I didn't get a photo of the final planted bushes, so I will get that tomorrow as well.  We ended up planting eight Viburnum bushes.  We planted four Northern Burgundy Arrowwood Viburnum, and four Blue Muffin Arrowwood Viburnum. 

 

I will be sure to post the final product tomorrow!   

A Diet Update

We have been on the low carb plan now for a couple of weeks, so I thought it was time to post an update on how things are going.  I was at the doctor yesterday, so I actually have an official weight loss number.  The last time I was at the doctor was mid June, and since then I am down 10 lbs.  I have to say, I was pretty excited when they told me that, and my doctor was really happy for me because she knows how much I have struggled. 

While I was at the doctor, I asked her to go back through my records for the last couple of years and tell me where my weight has been.  I think I can safely say since Andrew and I's wedding two years ago, I have put on between 40-50 lbs.  I can tell you it is much more enjoyable to put the weight on than it is to take it off.  But, I'm sure you all know that!

I would say a bulk of my weight loss has come in the last month, and about five of the pounds that I have lost have been in the last couple of weeks.  At the beginning and end of each week I do a weigh in.  Each week since starting the low carb plan, I have lost 2.5 lbs.  They say to lose weight and do it in a healthy way, you should drop about 2 to 3 lbs. per week, so I am right on track. 

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I stick to my low carb diet all the time.  During week one, we attended a wedding reception with a meal of delicious BBQ.  I enjoyed a small helping of cheesy potatoes (clearly not on a low carb diet), and some lemon wedding cake.  That same night I also enjoyed a small twist cone from our favorite ice cream shop before it closed for the season.  During week two, I had a pop one day for lunch and had a chimichanga while I was out for lunch with the girls at work.  I did leave some of the extra part of the tortilla on the plate, but I normally would have eaten that right up.  Occasionally at night, I will enjoy a scoop or two of chocolate frozen yogurt.  As Andrew told me early on in this diet, if you don't have things once in a while that you really enjoy, you aren't going to stick to the diet very long. 

It hasn't always been easy, but I have to say I feel better overall so far.  I don't feel as bloated when I am done with meals.  The first week or so I had a lot less energy while my body adjusted to the changes, and I felt like I was hungry all the time.  But, I feel like I have made some adjustments and my body is getting used to its new fuel.  I'm glad I finally have a plan that seems to be working.  I will be sure to keep you guys posted on the progress!  

A Low Carb Snack

In an effort to keep with the recipe Wednesday's, and to stick with my low carb diet, I'm posting about a yummy treat I made tonight.



I wasn't sure about these when I first saw the ingredient list, but they are actually quite yummy!  It is a little like eating oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough, and let me tell you how much I love cookie dough.

These call for:

1/4 Cup oat flour (we found this in the health food section at out local grocery store)
1 1/4 Cup oats (I used the one minute kind)
1/4 tsp of salt, which I just realized I left out and they taste just fine
1/2 Cup of peanut butter
1/4 Cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/3 Cup of sugar free maple syrup
2 tsp of vanilla
1/4 Cup of chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips because that is what I had on hand)

Mix the peanut butter, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla together until they are blended together.  Add in the oat flour, oats, salt, and chocolate chips.  Stir everything together.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  The recipe I use says to roll the dough into a ball, but that was making a mess, so I used a spoon to drop them onto the cookie sheet and it worked out just fine.

I hope you enjoy this low carb, yummy treat! 

It Is Football Time In This House

We were on the run most of the weekend, so I didn't get around to my weekend project until yesterday.  In support of the amazing Green Bay Packers, I wanted to make a wreath for our front door.  Fall is football season in this house.  I can't wait to park my rear in front of the TV on Sunday afternoon! 

I started with a wire wreath frame, three different fabrics, and a spool of ribbon.  I bought some Packers print fabric, plain green fabric, plain gold fabric, and football print ribbon.  In hindsight, I would have purchased more of the ribbon.  I wanted football fabric, but the only football fabric they had was bright blue, which wasn't going to work for me.  I bought a yard and a half of each and could have easily been fine with a yard and maybe even 3/4 of a yard of each fabric.  I laid everything out and cut the fabric into strips seven inches long by one inch wide.  I cut the Packers fabric eight inches long to try and get more of the pattern to show.  The ribbon was already 1" wide, so I just cut it into seven inch long strips.  For my first set of strips, I just cut one width of the fabric because I didn't want a ton of strips leftover.   To finish the wreath, I ended up using three strips from the fabric for each one.

In this photo, you can see everything laid out.  To cut these strips, I highly recommend using a mat (you can see mine at the top of the photo) and a rotary cutter.  My mat had one inch increments on it, which makes it super easy to cut the strips out.

Once you have all your strips cut, you start tying them on the frame.  Be sure to double knot each piece so it doesn't come undone.

Materials for the project:
Fabric/Ribbon- if you are using two colors, I would reccommend getting 1 1/2 yards of both colors.  if you are getting three or four colors, you would be fine with 3/4 yard to one yard of each color.
18" wire wreath frame
Cutting Mat
Rotary Cutter 

Here is the finished product

When you get closer to the wreath, you can see the Packers ribbon a little better.  I love how it turned out and hope this brings the Packers some luck this week on their opening game because it might be a tough one.  Go PACK! 

A New Plan

I think I have mentioned a couple of times this year that I have been trying to get the weight off that has slowly crept on.  A while ago, I posted about my frustrations in the weight not coming off like I thought it should, so I was going to increase my workouts.  Since June, I have really tried to get 3-4 workouts in per week at the gym, and do something physical on the weekend.  I have only missed a couple of weeks here and there, but I have always managed to get at least a couple of gym workouts in each week.  Even with the extra workouts, I wasn't seeing the weight come off.  In two months, I lost only two pounds.  I was frustrated and at my wits end.  I went to my doctor and asked her to test my thyroid; no such luck.  My thyroid was fine, so on to a new plan. 

I made up my mind that the only thing left to change was my diet.  I don't think I have ever been a terrible eater.  Even as a kid, I loved fruits and veggies.  We have been watching our sodium intake for several years now, and I always try and keep food on the healthier side.  My solution; cut the carbs.  I can't tell you how many times I have scoffed at low carb diets.  I love carbs, and always thought there was no way I could ever cut them.  As much as pasta, bread, sweets, and potatoes are friends to my stomach, they are not friends to my rear, thighs, or midsection.  We are currently rounding out week one of the low carb diet.  Andrew is also participating with me. 

As with any diet, grocery shopping this week took some planning.  We always go to the store with a grocery list, but I normally turned to a lot of stand by recipes.  From what I have read on low carb diets, I tried to make sure we were eating meats at every meal as well as veggies.  I'm also trying to tell myself you don't have to have a starch to complete a meal.  Dinners this week consisted of pork chops, chicken, and omelets.  Shopping for lunch was rather frustrating.  Normally, I eat a Lean Cuisine meal for lunch when I don't go out for lunch.  Standing in the freezer section at the grocery store looking at labels, I figured out I needed to have a plan B.  Each meal I looked at had at least 30 grams of carbs.  My solution; tuna.  Tuna with a little mayo and a little pickle relish and no bun to make it a sandwich.  I also picked up some Babybel cheese to throw in my lunch.  I'm a huge cheese fan, so I'm glad I was able to keep something I liked.   Towards the middle of the week, I discovered that I needed to have something on hand at my desk that was an ok snack food, so I turned to sunflower seeds, which are very low in carbs.

My other rough spot came on Monday when it was time for my afternoon coffee run.  In the mornings, I bring my coffee from home.   I make black coffee with a little bit of creamer, and no, carb freaks, I'm not giving up my creamer.  At this point, my potatoes, sweets, pasta and bread have been taken away, I refuse to touch my morning coffee.  My afternoon coffee, on the other hand, is another story.  Normally, I would order a Mocha or something equally high in carbs and calories.  Monday, I tried a soy latte with sugar free syrup; disgusting is the only thing I have to say for that.  The rest of the week I opted for black coffee with a little bit of 1/2 and 1/2 in it.  It isn't the Mocha I really want, but it gives me the boost I need in the afternoon.

Now, I'm a quick results kind of person.  When I have been waiting for two months to see any kind of weight loss, I have about run out of what little patients I had to begin with.  I'm happy to report that one week in on my low carb diet, and I have lost 2 1/2 lbs.  I can't express just how excited I am about this.  Heading in to week two of the low carb diet, I will attempt to look for some new recipes for dinner, so I don't get burned out too quickly.  I will be sure to keep you guys posted on the progress.     

 

A Pinteresting Experiment

Now that we are in the new house, I am going to try and tackle my growing Pinterest boards.  I have accumulated a lot of pins over the last couple of months while I was on a project hiatus, but I'm excited to dig back in.

First up: towel refresh.  I don't know about your towels, but ours had a little bit of a smell to them.  I'm going to call it a boy smell.  Don't worry, Andrew knows I think boys make smelly towels.  I don't know what it is, but it is a problem.  Have no fear; Pinterest to the rescue!  Not only did this take the smell out of our towels, it made them so soft.  I'm telling you, these towels smelled so good when they came out of the dryer I wanted to put them in a pile on the floor and lay in them.  Ok, that might be a little extreme, but it is really nice to step out of the shower in the morning and have a clean smelling towel.  It is the simple things in life sometimes that I find pleasure in.

So, here is the pin.  I did this on a Wednesday when I was working from home so I could stay on top of the cycles.  Just another note, if you don't have a gigantic jug of vinegar in your home that is specifically for cleaning, you should probably get one.  I can't tell you the number of uses I have found for it. 






So, there you have the Pinterest project for this week.  Like I said, super easy and well worth the time. I'm going to try and get back into tackling my pins, so I hope to have more projects up here soon.  I'm working on some fall decoration ideas at the moment.