Musings from a Busy Mom

Well, I have taken some time off from watching my calories.  But with much encouragement from my Facebook friends, I am trying to get back into it.  Tonight we are having antelope chili for around 233 calories per cup.

Different families have different ways they like to serve their dinners.  Some moms always have the plates ready, some dish out at the stove, others prefer the complete buffet style.  I am sort of in between.  I like the nice place setting, and I like having serving dishes on the table unless I am serving something like soup which will come straight from the stove or crock pot.  Sometimes the family comes to the table with their plates completely made, other times they come to the table with everything in serving dishes.  But one rule remains the same... no one eats until everyone's plate is made and the hostess (me) is ready.  So, here lies the new problem.  If the hostess is counting calories, should the family (or guests) have to wait for the hostess to measure out her food?  This did become a problem at our home, because it does take time to weigh food, and the scale just doesn't fit the place setting very well. I came up with a simple solution.  Meats are all cut to th

Okay, so I have never really been one to stick to a recipe.  I like to look at several different recipes for something and then make up my own, pulling from those recipes.  Well, with today feeling like a soup day, I decided to try to make Taco Soup for the first time. I apologize if this looks similar to your recipe, but I looked at about five different recipes to pick and choose what I wanted (for instance, I do not eat black beans), plus I actually counted at the calories of all my ingredients! =)  I think next week I'll try a white taco soup with chicken and white beans. Taco Soup about 165 calories per cup 1 can light kidney beans 1 can pinto beans 2 cans 28 oz diced tomatoes 1 can Rotel tomatoes 1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes 2 cans Mexican corn 1 package taco seasoning 1 package chili seasoning 1/2 onion, diced 1 pound 4 oz browned 93-95% lean ground beef (weight is after browned and drained; start with about 1.75 pounds raw; I also li

Well, I haven't taken pictures of everything since I've gotten home, but here's the update for the past two days.  Yesterday I had one blueberry muffin for breakfast.  I didn't check the calories, but I'd bet it was kind of high.  Sunday Lunch I had a cup of soup, two mini corn muffins, and ice water for 170 calories: Leftover Chicken Soup: 6 ounces of cut up leftover roasted chicken 1 bag frozen sweet peas 1 can summer crisp corn 1/2 onion 1 can diced tomatoes broth or water to thin to preferred soup consistency Makes 70 calories per cup. For Dinner we had burrito.  My husband had purchased some low carb whole wheat tortillas at 80 calories each, so I decided to try them.  They were not worth the extra calories... even if they were zero calories, they would not have been worth the extra calories (if you get my meaning; if not, I'll spell it out for you: Y-U-C-K). 310 Calorie burrito I had a lovely snack of a fudge bar while watching the Falcons g

So, Florida vacations obviously agree with me!  One week later I have happy children, and I am 6 pounds lighter!  Of course, the hubby says the weight loss is due to walking 5 miles a day at various theme parks, but I happen to think eating well contributed to the loss as well.  So, as promised, here are pictures of a sampling of what I ate on vacation: Breafkast: Rice cake with 1 TBS peanut butter and 1 banana for 240 My other option for Breakfast: Carnation Essentials with 2 cups of milk for 250 Calories A Typical Lunch: Half a ham sandwich, half a serving of Natural Cheetos, Half a Kiwi, and unsweet Tea for 240 Calories. Twice we ate lunch in the theme parks (I have no idea how many calories!)       I somehow lost some of the pictures I thought I took with my phone.  So, here is an old picture with the same things we had one night: Difference for the dinner on vacation, though, is that I had half a flour tortilla to round the me

Well, it has been a great week! I have generally done well with my calories. I'll post pics of a few meals when I have a chance, but I only recorded a few meals because breakfast and lunch generally didn't change much. We've had a wonderful vacation and none of us are ready to leave. Well, except maybe my husband. =-)

So I have learned that when you stop posting while out of town, it is difficult to get back into posting!  I mean, it is hard enough to get back into the regular schedule of school (and fighting with the kids to get them back into the routine of school), housework, laundry, etc., and adding posting back it... well, it just didn't happen until now.  So, starting today, I am going to try to get back into my daily postings!

It's been a good day visiting relatives.  My vacation eating is off to a pretty good start.. This morning Carnation made breakfast for 220 calories.  My new favorite breakfast for when I don't feel like eating in the morning. I had a mid-morning snack of caramel rice cakes for 100 calories (these are sooo good!)... Lunch was a delicious ham and cheese sandwich with half a peach.  The peaches were late season, so the texture was not as I would have desired, so I could only eat half of it.  Notice I use a one slice a bread cut in have for my sandwiches, but use a full 2 ounces of ham.  I also had mustard and 1 teaspoon of mayo on it and today I opted for half a slice of swiss cheese. My 100 calorie afternoon snack. Since I am on vacation, I decided to treat myself to a nonfat white mocha.  I absolutely love white mochas, but with even nonfat weighing in at 280 calories, I will not be seeing the inside of a coffee shop very often! A lovely and filling ta

240 calorie breakfast 1 cup corn flakes 1 banana 1/2 cup milk black coffee –-- I'm going to be on the road today; let's see how I do!

Don't ask me to look up the calories, because I don't even want to know!

Everyone to potty, refueled car, kids got a ice cream, and I get an apple and a plum for 105 calories (the kids already ate all the bananas).

135 calories.  I'll let you know if it keeps me to snack time. Another hour of school accomplished in the car!

70 calories 1 1/2 hours of car schooling is done. We have covered our memory work, our math facts, and Spanish .

Okay, just so you don't think I have it all together, I totally blew it this morning! 

Well, I made it through the day Tomorrow I will see if I can put the day all in one post. My final snack was 100 calories of kettle corn. Yum! I had a total of 1,013 calories (yes, I did break down and have the other half of that chocolate bar - some days are just like that).  I had 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, two servings of grain, two servings of protein, some healthy (and some not so healthy) fats and a little dairy. Plus 82 ounces of water and 3 glasses of green tea. I did 20 minutes of weight / strength training and 30 minutes on the exercise bike. See y'all tomorrow!

105 calories of pure bliss on a day like today. 

Grilled Salmon = 155 calories Mediterranean Vegetables = 50 calories Water = 0 calories RECIPES marinate 24 ounces salmon in 1/2 cup lemon juice Chopped Basil or up to 1 tap dried Basil Pinch of salt Pepper to taste 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil Grill for about 8 minutes per side Makes 6 four ounce servings Veggies are a frozen Mediterranean blend

I hear that and similar questions a lot these days.  Others ask, how can you do it?  Well, let me say that I am not the only one who has done this.     I watched my sister-in-law drastically reduce her calorie intake for wonderful results... she really looks great.  She has told me several times that if she can do it, I can do it.  I'm holding her to that! Secondly, what is your motivation?  You have to have a reason - a good reason - that YOU want to lose weight.  If you are trying to lose for someone else, chances are it's not going to stick.  My children are my motivation.  I want to be able to enjoy them more and for them not to be embarrassed by my weight when they are older.  Quite frankly, I don't want them to remember me overweight.  I know that's a tall order with my kids ranging from ages 5-8, but I know it is a possibility.  Finally, I want to be me again. So, in order to help out, I thought I would post some of the tips I have gained and tric

3 oz frozen unbreaded chicken bites = 90 calories 1 TBS BBQ sauce = 20 calories (check labels! ) 3 oz frozen roasted baby potatoes = 90 calories 1 cup salad = 8 calories 1/2 TBS balsamic vinaigrette = 15 calories Half a kiwi = ~25 calories Green Tea = 0 calories RECIPE: Balsamic Vinaigrette: 2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar 1 TBS Red Wine Vinegar 1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 tsp Lemon Juice 1/2 tsp Stevia 1 large pinch oregano 1 large pinch garlic powder 1 small pinch sea salt Mix all ingredients together.  Stir each time before serving. The only calories in this recipe comes from the oil, which adds 120 calories to the entire batch (which comes to just over 4 TBS).  For this size salad, one-half tablespoon of vinaigrette was plenty.  The children have aske me to make this dressing every time. =).

This morning I had a 250 calorie breakfast.

Well... I heard those dreaded words from my doctor... 'You need to lose weight.' l No one likes to hear those words, and especially not someone like me who for years heard, 'You need to gain weight.'  You see, I was one of those tall, skinny girls in school.  You know, the one everyone made jokes about, such as I would have to run around the shower just to get wet.  At almost 5'10", I never weighed more than 130 pounds, except for a brief time during a bad relationship, when I got up to 140-145.  But that's okay because I went from barely an A to a C, and as soon as we broke up I lost that weight and kept my Cs. At my wedding, I wore a size 6 wedding gown, and continued wearing 6s and 8s for that first year of marriage.  The weight slowly added on, and I was around 140-145 (a size 12) when I got pregnant with our first child (which, by the way, was actually a 'healthy' weight for me).  By the time I delivered my son, I was a whopping 180 pou