All Things Hold Together

We are getting ready to go visit my parents-in-law for the weekend in Massachusetts. My sister-in-law and her family are moving to the other side of the state (they currently live near my in-laws), so we want to see them before they go.

I think it will be good to get away for a couple of days.

Plus, I love driving through Vermont in the summer (and the fall, spring, and winter, too).

I just want to take this opportunity to say, God is good.

He gave me some real peace in a very, very stressful situation (that I will probably share with you soon). I honestly have no idea how I got through things before I knew Him, or why I would ever want to go back.

On that note, have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

I can’t believe that it has been two full weeks since I last blogged and 20 days since I last Twittered.

Things have been mad crazy around here. Big E and D’s bio-dad is visiting from out-of-state, which has caused mondo stress. Our close friends are moving away, so we have been spending a lot of time with them. Little E had a friend from Texas visiting, who is the grandson of our friends that are moving, so there was lots more visiting. Summer Kids Week (aka Vacation Bible School) was last week, so the kids were busy and tired. Bob has been working on the weekend, as his job occasionally requires, leaving me without my usual backup. And we are planning on moving, so there’s the planning and so forth involved in that.

Oh, and I just single-handedly rearranged our living/dining room (or great room, as they are sometimes called).

Lots going on.

Still, I am sorry to just disappear like that.

I need to recommit (again!) to blogging regularly. I have so many cool things I want to share, like recipes, crafts, and decorating ideas. And I want to do some posts about ADHD.

I took a July blogging break from my political blog and now I think I should have done that here, too - formally, I mean.

Anyway, I look forward to getting back in touch with my blog world friends. I hope you are all having a great summer!

It has been a few weeks since I posted a Weight Watchers Wednesday and now I have gone and changed the title.

As you may have guessed from those two facts, I am not doing so well with Weight Watchers.

Let me explain.

My problem, and why I am overweight, is that I am obsessed with food. It is my drug. It is my peace, my sanctuary, my release from the stresses of life. I think about it too much. I have an unhealthy relationship with food.

I feel like - for me - WW only increases my food obsession. I obsess about points and what I can afford to eat, and what I can’t. I find myself thinking about food even more, and that’s not helping.

In a lot of ways, this is a spiritual issue for me. I am not experiencing my full freedom in Christ if I still need to find refuge in food.

Anyway, I have started a new program. It is faith-based and I think it will better get to the heart of my real problem. The program is 30 days long, so I will report back then how it worked for me. (Obviously, the lifestyle change is ongoing after that.)

In the meantime, I still want to blog weekly with a post focused on body wellness, so I will continue (or start again) to do that.

And of course, I will still post yummy, healthy recipes, too.

I don’t want to just look good. I know I can get there with WW because I did it before. I want to feel good. I want to be free from this obsession with food and the roller coaster of emotional highs and lows that comes with it.

I have to note here, on the plus side, I have not gained anything since the last time I weighed myself even though I stopped tracking points.

Now, here is a recipe from Dr. Andrew Weil. (When my husband and I went on our honeymoon, Dr. Weil had just been at the B&B we stayed at the day before.) It uses real food and has 10 g of protein.

Chocolate Ricotta

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lowfat ricotta cheese
2 tbsp mild honey
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
2. Scoop into small dessert dishes and serve.

Nutritional Information:
Makes 2 servings (~ 1/4 cup)
Per serving:
145 calories
3 g total fat (2 g sat)
11 mg cholesterol
24 g carbohydrate
10 g protein
2 g fiber
100 mg sodium

This week’s Works-for-Me Wednesday is all about 5-ingredient-or-less recipes. This is a good one! I am going to be checking out links all week.

One of my favorite recipes is Chicken Pot Pie. It can be as simple or complex as you like.

Simple Chicken Pot Pie

Refrigerated pie crust
Frozen mixed veggies, thawed
Diced (leftover) cooked chicken
Jar of chicken gravy

Press pie crust into pie plate. Fill with chicken and thawed veggies. Top with gravy. Bake according to crust directions until crust is browned and filling is bubbly.

I did not give amounts for filling ingredients because I have found that people’s preferences vary. I use more veggies. Some people like more gravy or more chicken. Just don’t over-fill the crust.

If you like less crust, do not line the pie plate with the bottom crust, only use the top crust. You can also use biscuits as a topping instead of pie crust.

For a more complex recipe, you can make your own crust, make your own gravy, or even make the whole thing from scratch beginning with raw chicken.

Another easy recipe I enjoy is baked ziti.

Easy Baked Ziti

1 box ziti
1 package Italian sausage
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Shredded mozzarella

Cook ziti according to package directions. Meanwhile, cut sausage into bite-sized pieces and cook until done. Drain ziti and combine with sausage and sauce in a casserole dish. Top with mozzarella, to taste, and bake at 350-degrees until cheese is melted and begins to brown.

Be sure to head on over to Rocks in My Dryer and check out all the great 5-ingredient-or-less recipes.