THM Recipe Review: Chicken Florentine (S)

Chicken Florentine (Pg. 46)

Pros:  delicious, slow cooker meal

Cons:  None

Cost:  Inexpensive

Times Made: 8

Rating:  *****

This is a recipe my whole family loves.  Yes, my kids LOVE a recipe with spinach in it!  I made it for our church's monthly fellowship meal, and so many women said it was amazing.  It is SO easy to just throw everything into the crock pot and go on with my day.  All I do at dinner time is shred the chicken and make some Dreamfields pasta.  (you can also use zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash)  My daughter gushes about this meal...telling me over and over again how good and yummy it is.  I highly recommend it!  The recipe as written in the cookbook feeds my family of 8 with leftovers.  

THM Recipe: Joanies Lemonlicious Cake (S)

A mama in the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook group has given me permission to publish her recipe for lemon cake!  I am obsessed with lemon everything!  It's one of my favorite flavors.  So, here it is...

Joanie's Lemonlicious Cake (S)
 (created by Joanie Hummel)

Makes 12 cupcakes, or 1 sheet cake
(Print This Recipe!)

For the cake:

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup THM baking blend (or your own blend)
2 TBS collagen
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp mineral salt
3/4 cup gentle sweet (or other sweetener, converted.)
1/4 tsp guccie (glucomannan)

Wet Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon extract
4 oz. (1 stick) butter, melted

For the Frosting:

6 oz. 1/3 fat cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup gentle sweet (or sweetener of your choice, converted.)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix up dry ingredients.
Mix up wet ingredients.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients, mix well.
Pour into a greased 9x13 pan, or 12 muffin pan.
Bake for 30 minutes for 9x13, or 20 minutes for cupcakes.

For frosting,
Mix all ingredients and whip to thicken.

Frost after cake/cupcakes have cooled.

ENJOY!  

A Health Commitment

I started a  Health Bet challenge group today!  It's a 28 day commitment to work out at least 3x a week, and have a Shakeology shake 5x a week.  At the end, you get a money payout for participating!  So, why did I sign up to do it?

1.  I never really follow through on fitness commitments.

I don't know how many times I've committed to a certain number of workouts a week, and never done it.  Even when I got my Fitbit, I rarely do more than 3 workouts per week.  I've been wanting to up my workouts as I seem to have hit a plateau in my journey to lose weight and get fit.  With this challenge group, you can do workouts at home, or at a gym, or at the Y. So, even if I can't make it to the Y during the week, I can still workout at home and it counts!

2.  I usually have coffee for breakfast.

Ever since I had Winry, I just don't like to eat breakfast.  I have coffee with creamer, and I'm good.  That's really not a healthy breakfast, so I decided to try Shakeology.  It is packed with nutrient-dense super foods, and is super easy to make in the morning...just a scoop, milk, and ice. 

3.  You get paid!

The Beachbody Health Bet is a $2 million prize split among finishers who complete the bet for the 28 days.  Who doesn't want to make money while doing something good?  All you have to do is log in 3 workouts per week, and drink Shakeology 5 days of the week and log that in with a picture.  Shakeology comes in a variety of flavors, so you can pick one or get a few packs of all of the flavors. The cash prize can be anywhere from $5-$500!!  Ladies I know who have done it before have gotten $20-$150! 

*I did talk and explain this challenge with my husband, who said I could do it.  He is very encouraging.  I'm already doing at least 2 if not more workouts a week lately, and I already had some Shakeology from my last pregnancy.  My Zumba/PiYo instructor gave me a half bag so I could get some nutrition despite not being able to keep things down. 

Happenings

Hello, everyone!  I'm just posting to let you all know that I'm taking a short blogging break.  I'll be back in a week or two...maybe three.  I have some ideas that I want to work on in the mean time.  Thank you! 

My Favorite Time of the Year

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!  It is my absolute FAVORITE time of the year!  I love the music, the smells, the atmosphere, the decorations...just everything!  Christmas with kids is even more amazing. I love to see the joy and wonder on their little faces.  My kids sing Christmas songs all day, and they love the little Christmas countdown tree we have.  Every day they add an ornament to the countdown tree until, on Christmas day, they put the star on top.

We celebrate by going to my in-laws house Christmas day.  My mother-in-law gathers the grandchildren around (there are 9, with 1 more on the way!) and read them the Christmas story.  Then we all open presents.  The kids all play with their new toys while the men usually talk and the women get food ready, or snacks out.  We always have Lasagna and Chocolate Christmas Roll with a few side dishes.  (this year my MIL made a fantastic snack of cheese-stuffed jalapeño peppers wrapped in bacon...YUM!) It's a fun-filled day of family and fun! 

This year, I found 12 Christmas-related books and DVDs and wrapped them.  For the 12 days before Christmas, each kids unwrapped one present each night.  They then watched the movie or I read them the book.  It was so much fun I'll probably do it again next year! 

What are some fun Christmas traditions in your family?  Please share in the comments below!

Dreams DO Come True!

So, our 12-passenger van finally bit the dust.  (the snow dust)  The first super cold day this week, it decided to spring several leaks in various places.  That was the last straw for us.  Just two weeks ago, the kids and I got stranded in Green Bay because the brake line snapped.  (after being "fixed" the day before at the mechanic)  So, we decided enough was enough, and that we would get a new van.  We looked at several ads for used vans, but we came to the conclusion that if we wanted a van that would last a long time, we should buy new.

Bram and I went to a local dealer, and it just so happened that they had 3 12-passenger vans on the lot!   We were looking at Ford Transits and Nissan NVs.  None of the dealers around us had any Transits in stock.  We drove the Nissan around for a bit, and decided to get it. 

The best part?  I have been wanting a Nissan NV for almost 2 years now!  I first saw one in the Culver's parking lot in the spring, and practically drooled at it.  So gorgeous!  Bram said we would probably never have one unless, years down the road, we would find it used.  My dream came true, and now I am driving in a beauiful, red, Nissan NV 3500!

It is a tank, seriously!!  From the outside it looks massive.  I've gotten a few open-mouthed stares.  I am so happy with my new van, and I am so glad I don't have to worry that something is going to break when I drive. 

How I Make a Little Money on the Side, Being a SAHM

My husband has a great, well-paying job.  I appreciate all that he does to make sure we have enough money for our large family.  Occasionally, I like to get special things, and in order to have extra money for that, I do two things:  I sell my Crochet work, and I sell on eBay.

1.  Selling my Crochet Work

I set up a free website where people can go to look at all the items I have made to get ideas.  I also sell in a local buy, sell, giveaway Facebook group.  I set up a Facebook page where I can interact with my customers, and where people can message me about their order.  Most of my orders are through word-of-mouth from my happy customers.  I would love to sell at a craft fair someday, but right now, it's just not possible.  I use my kids and myself as advertising by making them cool hats and myself nice scarves and hats.  I have been asked for a business card several times just by wearing what I make!  This past Saturday, my friend and I, with my kids, went to a craft fair and I was stopped by a woman asking where my kids got their hats!  I was able to hand her my card, and she was so excited.

2.  Selling on Ebay

My mother-in-law has a successful eBay store for homeschoolers, and she got me started on eBay.  I just sell random things.  Some are brand new that I got at a discount and wish to profit on.  Some are books or other items I have lying around my house that I wish to get rid of.  It is super easy and really fun!  It's great to have a mom who I can run prices by.  She helps me figure out how to sell and what price to set.  You can sell just about anything on eBay!  I just sold a brand new, in the box FitBit Alta for $115, and I paid $65 on Black Friday for it!  After Paypal fees, I made $46 on it!

So, these are the two ways I make a little extra money for myself.  If you're not the crafty sort, eBay is a great way to make some money.  If you are crafty, what a nice thing to make a little money doing something you love!