Rising Prices

 With filling up your gas tank and grocery cart each week,  the cost of just these two things keeps rising like the temperature outside.  I know most of us whether you have children or not our wallets are really feeling the pinch more and more.

 Growing up in the 50's and 60's as a kid we could have fun all day long with little or no cost at all!. We were more active,  we rode our bikes everywhere, we ran and hiked,  built forts, tents, or just went exploring all day long until the street lights came on and all kids would scramble home exhausted from playing all day long. Children back then were in far better shape, healthier and I believe happier. We used our imaginations as far as it would let us.  Steve and I live on a few acers here and are surrounded by woods and our ten year old grandson would rather be in inside sleeping or playing Wii.  We as kids would have killed to be living here.

But in these modern times most kids need to be entertained or they want costly games to play sitting at their computers or couch.  That works great for a lot of parents today because it doubles as a baby sitter.

As moms a lot of time we have the sole burden of trying to stretch the dollar as far as we can.  So here are a few tips and ideas from an old fashion Mom.

1) 4 th of July and labor day both are great for bargains and opportunities to stock up the pantry and take even more advantage of our coupons.

2) Skip the ice cream.  Make simple pops for way less.  They are healthier and you can control the amount of sugar.  You can use frozen fruit juice or puree over ripe fruit in season and add a little water and honey and pour them into molds or ice cube tray with a toothpick inside..  My kids loved these!.

3)  Having a BBQ?  Use locally grown fruits and veggies,  brush them light with oil and grill  for a few minutes,  it looks prettu and taste great.

4) Avoid pre- made burgers,  by making your own you'll save a bundle and the burgers will have a nice rustic look.

4) Make your own side dish's like pasta, potato salads and such.  What it cost for just a pound at a deli is insane!  and will hardly feed 2 adults.

5) Don't make a big deal about everything and ask friends and family to bring something to lessen the burden of you paying for everything and doing all the work.  After all its really about spending quality time with friends and family.

Monday Menu Make Over

 Time sure seems to be flying by and its Monday again.  Steve loves pancakes,  blueberry is his all time favorite and Cinnamon Stack from our favorite chain runs a close second.  In the old days as I like to call it,  I would have thought plain buttermilk pancakes would be the way to go to save calories and fat but, whether you make them at home our get it at your local chain  an average stack of five will cost you 770 calories not to mention a Carb overload! 
  Anybody can make buttermilk pancakes but I like to change things up especially at breakfast.  You don't have to eat the same old boring breakfast day after day. That's why so many of us get bored and quit.  Today I am making one of my favorites  Blueberry cornmeal lemon scented pancakes it's a mouthful but worth trying especially that blueberry season is here.  Take out the kids or grand kids and pick some.  There are so many wonderful things you can do with them.  Enjoy ~

 Here's what you'll need:

1/2 cup complete pancake mix
1/2 cup cornflour
1/4 low fat cottage cheese
1/4c - 1/2c almond breeze
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
zest of a 1/2 lemon

Mix all the ingredients but, hold a few of the blueberries aside and let the batter rest for five minutes.
Heat up your griddle and lightly spray with Pam.
Portion out the batter to make three pancakes , they look small at first but they get light and fluffy!
Flip and finish till golden, plate add remaining blueberries and sugar free syrup and enjoy!

 These are light and fluffy,  you would never know cottage cheese was in these.

These will only cost you about 290 calories.

Make Over Menu Monday

 Well it's Make Over Menu Monday and today's topic is omelets. I love omelets during my quest to lose pounds they were my best friend and still are.  Now I am sure of all of you who are counting calories or just trying to maintain a healthy weight we automatically think veggie omelets  is the safe way to go and they could be if you know what your actually getting at a restaurant or if your really paying attention when your making them at home. 

If there is one thing I learned the hard way is that you need portion control but that doesn't mean your going to starve. Most of us aren't even aware how much fat or calories we even consume.  Another mistake so many of us think is you have to do without to lose.  Umm, you have to eat!  Once I started eating, especially breakfast " up until the last year or so I hated breakfast"  the weight starting falling off and now for the most part breakfast is my favorite meal, I look forward to it, it's my quiet time in the morning or my time with my husband which I so enjoy. I try to make it special even if it's something as simple as oatmeal.

So here is a garden veggie omelet at a well known chain.  Yummy but it's going to cost you 840 calories and 66 grams of fat.  that's insane for one meal!

For my omelet you will need:
 3/4 cup of egg beaters

3/4 cup steamed peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes '  Steam veggies in microwave

1 slice of low fat cheddar cheese or the flavor of choice

Pam

1/2 cup of fresh fruit of your choice

And the total calorie count for my version 240 calories and very very low fat

Fathers Day gift.

  So I said I would post what I got the husband for fathers day .  We have a pretty nice piece of land here in Tn and Steve is usually working on it .  So I mentioned in an earlier post I am retired due to having my leg amputated  and for other health reasons I can't always walk a great distance.  Well I am doing much better and would like to go hang with Steve once in awhile so I decieded to make him a bench.  We love bird and deer watching so we both said we like to have a few different benches around our land so we always have a place to sit. Not to mention unlike R.I. we have venomous snakes here.  So I thought I start our bench collection so to speak so I made him one along with the help of our two oldest daughters.

Ok I never said I was a carpenter but, I think it's a good start.  He seemed to like it  and I think it will look good way in the front of the house which is one of his favorite spots.

Happy Fathers Day Dear ~~

  It's  1 am right now and the husband finally fell asleep.  What can we say about our husbands?  If we are honest there are many times we like to  put them in the dog house.

Don't get me wrong it isn't because he did something wrong,  it's usually because I am so picky about my house.  Steve insist I am a clean freak but I'm really not.  I just like a neat and orderly house which can be tough with three big dogs!  and he  could be completely content if I only cleaned once a week but,  being a woman we want things how we want them.  He probably doesn't realize that I know I can be high strung at times and I don't mean to be so crabby as I will put it.  He puts up with all my imperfections and loves me anyways in spite of them.

With all of that aside we get along pretty well.  We have many things in common yet we like different things as well.  We are both comfortable enough that we don't need to know what each other is doing every single minute like my brother in law who had to touch base with his wife even when Steve and him would go shooting once a week for a couple of hours.

Do I have a marriage made in heaven?  no,  we have battles just like the rest of you who will admit it.  Would I change some things about him? maybe but I am sure he like to change a few things about me as well.

So at the end of the day he is still the man I want to spoon me, kiss, and always make me feel safe. I wouldn't trade our long conversations and time together for anything.  I have the up most respect for him as a father, papa, friend, and  an all around decent guy. So I am going to do something Corny and post a small little poem for him.


 Steve,
              Your wisdom and knowledge  have shown me the way.
             
             So I am thankful for you each and every day.

            I may not tell you enough how important you are.

           For you in my life,  your my bright shining star.

I love you Dear always ~~ Lori

Patty Melt Makeover

I know I said I'll do a make over recipe every Monday and I will this coming week now that I'm getting my blog running a little more smoothly..

Now back when Lisa and myself first started our journey to get healthier we thought we have some fun by giving one another a recipe we wanted to be made over.  Now let me tell you about Lisa,  she is a southern girl through and through,  she use to eat nearly everything fried in bacon fat !!  and dam she was proud of her bacon grease she collected in a jar and displayed on her kitchen counter.  Well Lisa had a few heart attacks and double bypass surgery so that had to stop.

So one of her request a few months into our diet which was my turn to makeover something for her  was a good old fashion patty melt.  I wasn't sure I could pull that off without it tasting like cardboard.  For those of you who don't know what a patty melt is,  here it is.
   Looks simple enough but, this is from a well know restaurant chain and the sandwich alone will cost you a whopping 1,013 calories and 87 grams of fat !! yummy but ouch!!

Now for mine you will need:
2 slices healthy life bread

1- 4oz buffalo burger " don't knock it! it's delicious with only 143 calories and almost NO fat "

2 slices of low fat cheddar cheese or any flavor you prefer
1/2 onion sliced and steamed in the microwave till soft " about 2 min " saves lots of fat!
1/2 tablespoon of real butter
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard & 1tablespoon of Hellman's low fat mayonnaise " no need for fat free we want it to taste good " mix together
Pam

steam your onions and saute them in a non stick pan with the butter and cook on low till all caramelized
cook your burger the the way you enjoy it.  rare, med, etc
while your burger is cooking, spray another pan with Pam , place your bread with with a slice of cheese on each one till golden brown
then you spread your bread with the mayo mixture add your burger and onions and enjoy!

 This is still nice and gooey just like Lisa likes it! and it will only cost you about 423 calories and not much fat at all!  now to me that's still should be for one of your treat days but at least it's guilt free.  Enjoy!

Fathers Day

My husband and Dad have always had so many hobbies that it was easy to buy for them. This year my Dad is no longer with us so I'll will just have to look back and remember him over this weekend.
    This is my Dad Manny,  he was a tire man who loved his job  and people so much that he won Tire man of the year a few times.  He also loved reading history books,  fishing, birds, and gardening more than anything.  I miss him so much and when I am out on our deck and see all the birds and flowers I think of him and smile.

My husband Steve loves so many things and much of his hobbies are very expensive..lol he never does anything small,  he is a perfectionist when it comes to anything he does with the one exception, and that is he is my Hobo ! my guy could live in total disarray! so after 26 years I've stopped trying to change him and seeing that's pretty much my only gripe with him I've decided to let it be.

Getting back to father's day this year is a little tough for me,  after all these years together he pretty much has everything aside from a Patton boat he would like to have so we can go fishing on one of these huge lakes we have here. So I have been scouting around like a nut this past month or so trying to find something nice for him with not much luck until this morning,  I finally came up with something!  I think he is going to get a kick out of it and love it. I can't say what it is but I will post it after he gets it.  I should mention though everything he does like is expensive, photography, shooting, coin collecting, ect he is the kind of man that is so appreciative with anything he gets no matter what it is. For heavens sakes he still to this very day thanks me for every cup of coffee or meal I ever give him!

This is my Steve and his two best buds Yankee and Dixie.

One of my hobbies..

I love unsolved crimes,  I know to some that may sound grim.  It all started when I was around  14- 16 years old and my Mom and Dad was just sitting down to watch a movie and I heard the opening music,  it was old music to my ears when all of a sudden I heard the squeak of an opening door and someone said... please come in,  someone has killed father!  I rushed in the living room and asked what the heck are you watching?  and they said " Lizzie Borden "  you know the rhyme..Lizzie Borden took a axe and gave her father forty whacks and when she saw what she had done she gave her mother forty one.  Umm I watched the movie and when my Mom told me it was a real story and the crime happened right in the next state,  well I was hooked!  I have been to Lizzie's houses and the museum that has some of her things and a old woman who shared milk and cookies with Miss Lizzie as she called her and yes I even went to her grave and took pics!  if I could have spent the night there in her room I would have.  So that's where it all began and how I got so interested in crimes and mysteries. I've dragged my husband into it also. We watch all the unsolved mysteries, crimes shows, court TV,  and of course Nancy Grace and all of her pose as I call it.

The reason I am talking about this today is because we've been wrapped up in the Caylee Anthony case everyday.  Over the years with all the technology and forensics it just so interesting.  Our hearts go out to all the missing kids and their families. Its so hard to ingest that a Mom could possibly be involved or the actual perpetrator in this crime.  How could any good come from this horrific deed? How this crime affects so many people. Do any offenders ever stop and think what they have done?  It just doesn't stop at that child losing his or her life. They robbed them and the ones who loved them of any future,  We will never know if this child could have grown up to be a doctor who would cure all cancers or have that infectious voice say like Barbra Streisand's or Elvis with his shaking hips who will be remembered and enjoyed for years to come,  a President who could have changed history. We will never understand why no one was there to protect them.

It all brings me to think that we should never be so busy that we can't take  an extra  bit of energy, a few seconds with our hugs, kiss, and say I love you a little more often.  Sometimes when your with someone a long time they automatically assume you know how they feel but, no matter how old you are or secure in your relationship it is always nice to feel those hugs and hear those words.  So NEVER take for granted that you'll see that person forever because whether your as young as little Caylee or a Great grand parent the last time may very well be the last time you see them alive. 

Menu Makeover Monday

 It's Monday and if you remember in my earlier post that I lost a lot of weight with no real help from anyone or any specific diet other than my cheer leaders Lisa and Steve.  Many weeks my husband and myself  have a date to go out to breakfast and shooting.

Now mind you when we go out that would be my free day as I call it.  You know when you can have a treat or something you wouldn't eat on a daily basis.  Anyways  I always got the same thing because I enjoyed it so much and I figured it would be fair with calories.  Well my daughter one day said she had this application on her phone where she could look up almost any restaurants menu and the calories of the meal,  well I wasn't to concerned because I was losing weight consistently every week so how bad could it be right?  Wrong!  I always got vegetable stuffed crepes made with egg beaters even, that's it no hash browns, no toast, no meat on the side or in the crepes.  Well that breakfast was approximately 1, 040 calories!! not to mention the grams of fat!  I was blown away when I heard that.  So the following week, I figured let's go simple and get a plain and simple breakfast of simply french toast,  just three pieces and nothing else.  Umm that cost me over a 1,000 calories as well.

So today I want to start with making over my version of a much lower fat recipe for french toast. 

Now I have to admit I can also make a much nicer fattening version myself but,  if your needing to lose weight we have to be reasonable. This recipe is still filling and taste pretty good and you don't feel cheated and it's especially nice when you see the numbers on the scale go down and you really didn't miss out on much.  So here is a pic of a french toast from a famous chain that cost you over 1,000 calories and you don't want to know how many grams of fat !

 Ahhhh six pieces with just a smack of strawberries and a pinch of whip cream, looks innocent enough.  And here's my makeover version...

You'll need 3 slices of healthy living low sugar/ low carb bread.
1/4 cup egg beaters or egg whites
1/4 cup Almond breeze
1/4 splenda
1/2 teaspoon of good vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of good cinnamon
and a few sprays of Pam
1/4 cup _ 1/2 cup sugar free syrup
2 nice strawberries
 Now minus the bread, mix the first 5 ingredients well,  spray a pre-warmed griddle with Pam, dip your bread in the mixture and cook on both sides till golden brown,  Serve with strawberries and syrup and sit down and enjoy it with your favorite morning beverage.

 And here's my finished french toast, don't look bad and it will only cost you about 160 calories and almost no fat !

I am starting to get excited

Well I am starting to get excited!  My daughter and myself are off on a new venture.  We are starting a new business called " Patriotic Moms Boutique " we bill be selling handmade children's clothing,  things to keep the kids busy.  Beautiful hat boxes filled with goodies or empty to have for yourself or give as gifts,  clocks, wax less candles,  the list goes on!  We will even have items for the pets. We are so happy to put our love and talent out there for people to enjoy.

I never thought trying to get things in order was going to be so time consuming!  not to mention having to run a household and take care of pets.  There never seems to be enough hours in a day for all you want to do or accomplish. I wish I could pull all nighter's like I was able to do twenty years ago.

My poor husband isn't feeling well and it's been so hot here that it drains the life and energy out of you.  But that's OK, we'll get everything done one way or another.