Blogilates!

My sister told me about this awesome blog full of Pilates videos...all for FREE! They are created by an awesome woman named Cassie. 

I have been doing these videos for almost a month. I feel great.  She instructs on proper technique and proper Pilates breathing. 

I don't think I would like, or do this if it wasn't for all of the videos. She does everything with you and instructs you a long the way. 

 I finally did some exploring on her website and found all the beginners videos and an amazing daily calendar to follow. I started Day 1 today. WOO! 

I encourage you to check this blog out. It is so good and really inspiring! 

Blogilates

When you get to the site hover over the Workout Video section to select a video. There are videos for beginners and for advanced. 

I am also on day 15 of the 30 Day Plank Challenge.  It is getting really hard but I really want to push through. 

Hope you check these things out. Have a beautiful day. 

Ps. Going okay with the no processed sugar thing. I'll be honest though...yesterday was a rough day with a visit to the ER. That night after baby was in bed I totally licked clean a spoon full of Nutella. Uh oh.  :) 

Mini Yorkshire Puddings

A long time ago I attempted to make one of my husband's favorite things, Yorkshire pudding...it ended up looking like corn bread and not yummy.

Randomly a few days ago I decided it was time to try again. Turned out amazing! We didn't eat them like most English would...they are usually served with a meat, potato and gravy type dish. I cooked up some amazing chicken sausages from Costco. Have you tried the Aidells pineapple and bacon chicken sausages? They are so yummy. We also had Pioneer Woman's coleslaw.

For the Yorkshire puddings I just researched for a recipe online...yay for internet! I followed the recipe exactly except I used COCONUT OIL instead of drippings or other oils. The coconut oil gave them a yummy flavor. I also don't own a Yorkshire pudding pan, so I used a muffin tin. They were cute. I also think I finally figured out that the English Yorkshire Pudding is our Popover!
 Learning, it's good for the brain.

Here is how mine turned out...pretty!

I will say that they aren't so good the next day. Good thing Peter ate most of them at dinner. I also thinking having them with a beef stew or pot roast would be delish!

Here is the recipe for the Yorkshire Pudding: http://www.food.com/recipe/my-mums-easy-and-traditional-english-yorkshire-pudding-203349

Sugar...

It  has been too long since I blogged and I have a ton of things to blog about. However, tonight I felt like writing about something a friend posted on Pinterest. 

I know I am addicted to sugar...and it stinks. My friend posted about five tips that will help you stop craving sugar. Amen. 

It makes complete since. I really want to try it. Not just try but be able to stop being addicted.  I know it is possible. It makes me sad that a lot of people struggle with this. 

At the same time I think it is okay to indulge sometimes! I love experimenting in the kitchen...and baked goods are so yum. 

I am so proud of those who get over this sugar craving and I hope to do the same. I want to slam it in the ground! BOO YAH! :) 

Writing this on here means I gotta do it...haha. :) 

Here is what I found on Pinterest. Enjoy! 

"The number one reason that people crave sweets is that their insulin is high, and when it starts to fall we want the sugar to spike it  back up again. It’s a vicious cycle, that leads to feeling tired, and fatigued. Here are some really good tips that will get you back on track to being healthy and feeling energetic again.

1. Increase your protein intake. Often times our body feels like it wants sugar when it’s really craving protein. Try starting with an egg, or something that is high in protein.

2. Remove the temptations. If you don’t have them around the house it’s harder to indulge. If it’s at work that you’re having a hard time. Do what you can to remove the temptation BEFORE the craving hits. If you keep a jar of jelly beans on your desk. Get rid of them, but bring something healthy to eat when you are ready for a snack.

3. Eat frequently. Cravings are the worst when we've either skipped a meal, or we've had a drop in our blood sugar. By eating every few hours we avoid that drop in blood sugar. Eating 3 good meals a day with a snack in between will keep you feeling good without getting so hungry that you grab whatever you can find to get your blood sugar up.

4. Avoid artificial sweeteners.  Artificial sweeteners, like Saccharin or Aspartame, make us have more cravings for sweets, and may present a higher risk of cancer.

5. Either Cut sweets cold turkey then indulge in small amounts. Because our insulin is so used to being high, the first 3 days are the hardest. If you can eliminate sweets completely until your body has had a chance to let your insulin come down, you won’t crave them like you did. Then you’ll be able to be satisfied with small amounts." http://homemadebyjaci.com/5-things-that-will-stop-sugar-cravings/

Food Network Magazine

I received my final magazine from the Food Network a few weeks ago. I love this magazine. Peter got it for me as a gift for Christmas. I highly recommend it. I hope I get it again someday. Hint hint for my hubby. :)

In this month's magazine, I found a really interesting article.  From the section, "In the Know."  The article caught my attention because of its headline, "Make your summer produce last." We eat a good amount of veggies in different dishes..and no matter what some go bad before I get the chance to experiment with them. I haven't tried their method yet..because of the lack of veggies in my fridge. However I intend to. :) 

Here is what they suggest: Click on the link... :)

Shock Value

Enjoy! Let me know if you try this! 

Cloud Atlas

Last night the hubster and I watched the film Cloud Atlas.  There are many words I could use to describe this movie, the loudest word in my mind is, "weird." However, "amazingly talented" comes to mind at the same time.  It was often hard to follow. We paused the movie and looked up the different time periods it was focusing on so we could stop being confused. :) 

My absolute favorite thing was the costumes and makeup. There was a group of actors who played many, many, many different characters. It was awesome. At the end of the film they show you each actor and the many characters they played.

I would not recommend watching this with a group of people. There were some points when it was awkward watching it with my husband. Straight to the point of pornographic.  I hate that films have to go there.  There were also some really violent parts...I hid my face most of the time.

Side note...I hadn't realized it was rated R...it was definitely rated R for a reason.

Minus the sexual and violence parts, it was a beautiful film about people's choices affecting other people. I loved the history is went through.

I thought it acting was really good. Tom Hanks was crazy good with all his characters. Halle Barry was beautiful and so talented. My favorite was Jim Sturgess.  Loved him in Across the Universe.

What did you think of this film?

Have a good day.

My birthday cake

I celebrated my 27th birthday yesterday...my golden birthday! My parents jokingly said I made up "golden birthdays", but I knew they existed! For those who don't know what a golden birthday is...it's just when you turn the age of the date you were born. I turned 27 on the 27th.

Anyway...I decided I wanted to make a cake. I have never made a layered cake before. I love The Pioneer Woman, I so tried her Chocolate Strawberry Nutella Cake. 

Unfortunately my camera battery died and I wasn't able to take pictures of the process of making it, but I followed her recipe exactly. The end result was not as pretty, but it tasted super good. I might have discovered a little love for cake.

I would like to get better at making cakes, and making them look beautiful. I also need to work on being patient when it comes to baking.  I had a lot of time yesterday to let the cakes cool, but I was impatient and wanted to see them out of the pans. This resulted in one of the cakes cracking, so I learned my lesson. Luckily the cake was devoured and tasted delicious.

Please try this cake. Recipe is in the link above.

Here's a few pictures.

Place your first cake on a cake plate.

Put 3/4 cup of Nutella and spread evenly. 

Then put half of the whipped cream and half of the strawberries on surface of the cake. Begin the second layer. 

Then you have this...!!!

It was a beautiful birthday. I am blessed with amazing family and friends. 

A yummy meal

I am late in writing this post because I went to visit my parents for a week. I hope you enjoy! 

A few weeks ago I experimented by making my own lasagna recipe, a small salad with a lemon, olive oil dressing, and finished with a plum apple crisp. Yum. 

By the way...I didn't do a lot of accurate measurements for the lasagna...sorry! But I encourage you to try and make it to your liking! I'm still learning that I need to write down how much of an ingredient I added. :)  

Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 375. 

First thing I did was sauteed a bunch of mushrooms, one orange bell pepper,  one onion, and added a couple cloves of garlic at the end. You don't want to add the garlic too early or it will burn. 
I had never added mushrooms before, and it was amazing! Gave the sauce an extra meaty texture. 

Next add the meat. I used about a pound of ground beef. Salt and pepper the meat. 

 While the meat cooked, I made the cheese filling. I used cottage cheese and ricotta, plus one egg. Make sure to season the filling with salt and pepper! This part was a bit hard...I didn't want to taste the mixture because of the raw egg. So next time I'll taste before I add the egg. This layer can be really blah if not seasoned correctly. 

Inside the filling I added fresh herbs. I used parsley, oregano, thyme, and basil. Reserve some of the herbs for the meat sauce. 

Next I decided to add some tomatoes to the sauce. 

Then I added the marinara sauce. Next time I will add the whole jar, and maybe more than that. When the lasagna was done it was really good, but I would have liked it a bit more saucy. It can become really dry in the oven. 

Then I grated up some mozzarella and parm cheese. It took forever...but freshly grated is sometimes better. 

Now comes the assembling! I use the no boil noodles...they are awesome. 

Put some sauce on the bottom of the pan. 

 Begin layering :)...For some reason my noodles never line up pretty in my dish. Oh well... 

I baked the lasagna at 375 degrees for 40 minutes with some foil on. Then take the foil off and cook it for another 10 minutes. Make sure you let the lasagna sit for ten minutes before serving. 

I was proud of this lasagna. I thought it was pretty! My husband ate it everyday for about a week...mainly because I was out of town and he had no one to cook for him. :) 

Lemon Olive Oil Dressing:

So easy, healthy, and yummy! Squeeze one lemon in a bowl, drizzle in olive oil, add salt and pepper. Whisk and enjoy! 

Plum Apple Crisp: 

Preheat oven to 375 and bake for 30 minutes. 

I had a few plums that I needed to use. My mom helped me blanch them...first time I've ever tried that! My mom is awesome. :) 

Poured boiling water over the plums...

Then fetched them out...

Dropped them in cold water...this stops the cooking process. 

Then we peeled the skin off and diced them in cubes. Also peel and dice the apple. 

Butter whatever dish you want to use and add the fruit. 

Then make the topping. This is my favorite part! I got the topping recipe from my friend Tammy Weaver. 

Topping:

3/4 cups brown sugar.

1/2 cup flour.

1/2 cup quick oats.

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

1/3 cup butter, softened. 

Pour the topping all over the fruit. I also dolloped some butter on top of the topping...there was no reason to do this, except that butter is delish, and maybe would make it brown beautifully.  

It was a yummy crisp...and to make it extra yummy my mom and I decided that it needed a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Amen. 

I hope you try some of these!!! Have a great day.