Merry Christmas, Everyone!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

A little back story, we’ve been a foster family for almost 3 years now!  We have 2 bio daughters (17yo & 14yo) and have fostered 9 kiddos - 3yo and under.  The last year with our last 2 foster babies was really hard.  They both had a lot of medical issues.....we had 320+ appointments between the 2 of them in the year we were blessed to have them!  So, we are taking 3-4 months off from fostering to rest and take a trip to Disney World before we are back to taking in foster kiddos!  Self-care is a must if you are a care giver to anyone!!

The last 2 years I’ve been struggling with a few medical issues and am taking several medications for them.....the biggest is T2 diabetes.  I’m working hard to heal my body with THM and get off these meds!

Here’s a recipe that my family LOVES so I had to THMify it!!

Sausage Balls!

• 2 1/2 Cups of RayesPlace baking blend**
• 1 pkg (8oz) softened cream cheese
• 1 Pound Bulk Pork Sausage.
• 4 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese.
• 1/2 Cup Grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese. (I use the green can if I don’t have fresh)
• 1/2 Cup 1/2 & 1/2.
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Crushed Rosemary.
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley Flakes.
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix all of your above ingredients together very well in a large mixing bowl by hand.

Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Form your sausage and cheese balls into quarter-sized balls and place on the baking sheet slightly apart and not touching each other.

You will want to pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Bake your sausage cheese balls for 20-25 minutes.  You want them golden brown all over and serve soon after you take them out of the oven or let them cool then put them in a gallon size ziploc bag and freeze!  They taste great warmed up in the microwave!

**I’ve used RayesPlace.blogspot.com ‘s baking blend for a long time but I’ve made some alterations because I don’t always have psyllium husks on hand!!

• 1 cup oat flour (I grind my own!)
• 1 cup coconut flour 
• 1/2 cup oat fiber
• 1/2 cup psyllium husks (if I don’t have any, I just sub more oat fiber)
• 2 Tbs baking powder
• 1 Tbs Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix together and store in an airtight container.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!  

Fell off the THM wagon

Hey!  Life has taken a crazy busy turn ever since we became a foster family in March of 2016!  Let me tell you that helping little ones deal with some of the hardest, most painful times of their lives stirs up the junk that you’ve buried from your own past.  I’m a serious stress eater/feelings stuffer and it has taken 2 years and my health taking a serious nose dive to get back to doing THM seriously.  And taking my health seriously!!  I’ve uncovered some really deep and painful reasons why I sabotage myself.  Im sure I will share those eventually but not today.  Today I’m just popping in to say HI, let y’all know I’m still around and that I’ve lost 14 of the 36 lbs I gained back!  

Today’s lunch?  Reuben in a Bowl!  Found in the THM Cookbook (you can find copycat recipes on Pinterest)

I’d like to encourage you!  If you are a Drive Thru Sue like me, getting all the perfect ingredients can be INSANE!  I still use store bought mayo and ketchup with corn syrup but, for me, I feel like I’ll get around to healthier options on things I barely use eventually.  This isn’t going to keep me from losing weight or from being healthy!  This season of my life is SO busy that I just don’t have time to research and search for ‘perfect’.

Hope this helps someone to embrace the grace of THM and keep on keepin’ on!

Blessings!

Dana

Happy New Year!!

Usually I start my New Year's out with a bunch of resolutions......lose weight, get serious about being healthy, workout more, yada yada yada.  And it just never really happens.  I start out with great intentions, some heroic tries, but always fall off the health wagon.  Not so this year!!  I'm not making any resolutions that have anything to do with my health!!!  WHAT?!!  Yep!  That's right!  I don't need to!  Trim Healthy Mama has become my normal; my everyday; my regular, old boring life!  I don't weigh myself everyday anymore, my clothes give me a better idea of what's happening with my size!  I don't have crazy, uncontrollable cravings for sugar and junk food anymore.....healthy, whole foods are much more satisfying!  No more brain fog (and the Lord knows I need all the brain power I can get!!).  No more crazy blood sugar spikes!  My A1C went from 6.7 to 6.1 in just 3 months this past Fall!  I do still use a daily med for my arthritis, but I'm praying that as my body shrinks, I'll be able to stop taking it!  My arthritis and inflammation is already better.....I was suffering all day, every day before I totally committed to THM.
Now, I won't tell you that I don't ever struggle with being tempted to eat junk or sugary foods, but the irresistible pull they used to have just isn't there anymore!  It is an amazing miracle!!
If you'll notice, I haven't even shared how much weight I've lost!  The weight loss has just been the icing on a very yummy, healthy cake!!
Now for the numbers!   I started out at 309 lbs, the heaviest I've EVER been, and the most miserable.  As of Christmas Day, I'm down 40 lbs!!  I'm down to 269 lbs and feel AMAZING!  I still have a long way to go (110 lbs to be exact), but I just take it 10 lbs at a time!  Slow and steady wins the race!  I'll post before/during pics in a couple weeks for my Trimaversary!
So let me just encourage you, if you've tried all the crazy diets (like I have!), try one more eating plan....Trim Healthy Mama!  It'll be the last "diet" you ever try!

If you decide to take the plunge, here are my suggestions for getting started.....

I pray that we all have a very joyful, blessed New Year!!

Blessings,

Dana

Oops! I skipped Thanksgiving!

And Halloween, if you want to get all technical!  Life has been CRAZY busy!!  Forgive me for not making time for this blog......you should be impressed by the fact that I'm currently typing this out at 1am.....in the morning......no one should see that time twice in one day!  LOL!

How am I doing on THM?  I'm glad you asked!  I'm doing well!  I struggled a bit with staying on plan over Thanksgiving and my weight has been a total yo-yo since my last blog post, but I'm staying the course!  I've discovered that I eat way too few E meals AND they are majorly wimpy!!!  So I've upped the carbs in my E meals and the scale is starting to move in a steady, downward direction.....just the way I like it!  NSV's - I'm able to cross my legs!!  (my fellow fluffies will understand that struggle!) and I can wear my size 18/20 sweatpants again!!  They are snug and would earn me a spot on People of Walmart if I wore them in public......but they fit and are comfy!  Coming from a tight 26/28, I'd say that is a big deal!

Now for the recipe of the week.....

It's my own recipe!!  Every Christmas I make German Pfeffernusse Cookies......think, gingerbread meets ginger snap rolled in powdered sugar.  They are little bites of heavenly goodness!!  They are a bit labor intensive, so I only make them once a year.  I was lamenting their loss since my original recipe is full of wheat flour and sugar and then I started to wonder if I might be able to THM-ify my recipe!  Good news!  I DID IT!!!  They are SO good!!!!  I hope you take the time to make them this Christmas!

German Pfeffernusse (Peppernut) Cookies - THM S dessert

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup xylitol
1/4 cup brown sugar substitute (I like this one at Gwen's Nest)
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp molasses
1 3/4 cup baking blend  (I use this one at Raye's Place)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp collagen
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp Water
1/4 cup xylitol/erythritol (I use 1/2&1/2) blended with a coffee grinder into powder

1)    Beat butter, sugar substitutes & egg until light & fluffy
2)    Add molasses and blend well
3)    Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl (not including the powdered sugar) and add slowly to the wet ingredients.  (Don't forget to add the 2 Tbsp of water after all the dry ingredients!)

4)    Place dough in the fridge for 30 min.
5)    Roll small pieces into a pencil shape and cut into 1/2" pieces.
6)    Bake on parchment paper or silpat @ 350 for 5-7 minutes.

7)    Cool slightly, then toss in powdered sugar

8)    Store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge!  Hope you enjoy them!

This cookie is such a wonderful, spicy, Christmas-y cookie!  I hope your family loves them as much as mine does!

This recipe makes about 160 bite-size cookies.  It uses a whole Tablespoon of molasses but that breaks down to 0.1g of carbs per cookie.....not bad!  You can enjoy 10 or 20 for only a carb or two!

Merry Christmas!
Dana

Happy October!!!

It's FINALLY getting cooler here in Texas!  And by "cooler" I mean the lower 80's!  (insert eye-roll here!)  It's been an unusually warm Fall....unfortunately.  I love the Fall....pumpkins, cool weather, sweaters, jeans....not sweating when I walk to my car....you know, it's the little things!

I know it's been a bit over a month since I last posted and I'm happy to say I'm still happily sitting on the THM wagon!  It's been 64 days with NO sugar and only 2 off plan meals!  In that month I've been camping for 4 days (in a tent....let's not talk about it!!), I've been out of town 4 days & have had some physical issues.  I'm pretty proud of myself!!  I also have an announcement....drumroll please......

I finally hit 30 lbs gone this morning!!  WooHoo!!!!!  I'm so thrilled!!  I won't say I'm a speedy loser, but it's definitely been steady!  15 lbs in 11 weeks!  Not too shabby!

So for those of you wondering what real life weight loss looks like on THM.....let me show you what mine has looked like since January......
1/1/15 - 309 lbs
2/4/15 - 292.8
Hubby was in the hospital with a staph infection & had 6 weeks of daily IV antibiotics at home.
2/16/15 - 298.8
In May I had a D&C & tore my ACL
6/18/15 - 284.8
Totally struggled to get back on plan for almost 2 months....and gained a lot of weight back....my knee was really messed up and I was in a LOT of pain.
8/1/15 - 293 (started being really serious about THM and cut out ALL sugar!)
9/4/15 - 287.4
10/1/15 - 282.6
I have pretty bad arthritis and went through a week with TONS of inflammation......figured out it's gluten that's causing the flare up.  Boo.....no more Ezekiel bread....at least for now!  But the inflammation has been better.
10/21/15 - 278.8 - 30.2 lbs lost!!

The moral of the story is.....jump back on the wagon when you fall off!  ;)


Next on the agenda is the recipe of the week!!
Briana Thomas created the orginial recipe here.....but my friend Amanda on You Food (AplusY) altered it to make it lower in carbs and it is SOOOOO yummy!!!  Stop whatever you are doing and go make it!!

Ok, that's about all I have for today!  I'll do my best to get back into the swing of blogging more often!

Blessings!
Dana

It's a new week!

I know I just posted last Wednesday and it's just now Monday, but my weekend has been insane.  I'm sure yours has too!

We met up with our besties from college!  Our oldest daughter watched all the kiddos (6 total) while we parents went out to dinner and coffee!  It was WONDERFUL!!!  And I stayed on plan!  ;)  We spent the night and the hubs & I attended some foster care training the next morning then met everyone at the ball field for some Fall baseball!  It was such a great 24 hours!  Love our sweet friends!  (My hubby and I are on the bottom!)

Oh!  Have I ever mentioned that our family is in the process of becoming a foster family?  Yep!  We are in the process right now!  It's going slower than we thought, but God's timing is perfect!  More on this in a later post!

Favorite recipe of the week goes to.....Me!  LOL!  I've been having a serious craving for apples and peanut butter, and not just 1 tsp of peanut butter!  So I came up with a yummy, low fat, peanut butter dip!

Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip - THM E

1/3 cup defatted Peanut Flour (I use THM PB flour)
1 cup 0% Greek Yogurt (I make my own with this recipe.)
1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt (or whatever salt you have on hand!)
2 Tbsp Gentle Sweet
1/2 tsp Sweet Blend
1 Tbsp Gelatin (optional - I use this kind)

Blend well using a hand held mixer!
Makes 3 servings & only 2g of fat in each serving!

It's my first THM recipe and I hope y'all like it!

I'm heading into Week 2 of my 30 day THM challenge!  I lost 4 lbs this last week!  LOL...that rarely happens, but I'll take it this week!  This nice loss gives me.....

I'm officially 27 days on plan and sugar-free!!  WooHoo!!!!  I'm so excited!  Saying no to sugar is getting easier.

I've had a family crisis this last week....it's an ongoing issue that has wreaked havoc in my extended family.  It's something that always pushes me to "use" sugar for comfort.  This time around, I was tempted, but asked the Lord for help to stay on plan knowing it would be easier to deal with the stress and pain with level blood sugar!  I did it.  I'm really proud of myself and so thankful to God for guiding me, & giving me the strength to look to him instead of to sugar!  Prayers for wisdom, peace and a miracle would be appreciated.

That's about all I have for now!  Enjoy your week!  Here's my quote of the week.....

Blessings!

Dana

I have too many things to talk about!!

I've waited too long and now I have too much stuff to cram into this one blog post!!  Oops!!  Life got busy and I didn't make time to blog.  No real excuses!

Drum roll, please!!!!!
I'm on day 20 with NO sugar!!!  WooHoo!!!!!  I'm so thrilled!!  The first week was rough, but the second and third weeks weren't too bad!  I didn't even miss it!  This fourth week has been difficult......I think I must have some yeast dying off (or an alien or 2), but it will pass!  I've been taking Magnesium since week 1 and I really think that is helping my sugar cravings!

I also started a 30 day THM challenge last week!  I'm loving it!  I only had one off plan snack my first week....some wheat thins, so I'm counting week 1 a great success!!  My goal for week 2 is drinking more water.  I have always had a hard time drinking 8 glasses of water a day let alone more than that!  I've had 4 glasses today......I need to get busy!!

Ok.....recipe of the week goes to.....Mrs. Criddle's Cowboy Cookies!!!  YUMMMM-O!!!  They are WONDERFUL!!  I did alter them a bit so I'll post my altered recipe below, but the orginal is in the link above!

Mrs. Criddle's Cowboy Cookies  (**w/Dana's alterations)

1)   1 cup of room temperature butter (2 sticks)
2)   1/4 cup THM Sweet Blend OR 1/2 cup Gentle Sweet (I used Gentle Sweet)
3)   1 tsp vanilla (or just eyeball it!  ;)
4)   1 tsp baking powder
5)   1/2 tsp salt
6)   1/4 tsp maple flavor (this seemed weird to me but adds good flavor!!)
7)   3 eggs
8)   3/4 cup almond flour
9)   1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
10) 1/4 cup of old fashioned oatmeal ground into flour
11) 1/2 cup oat fiber**
12) 1 cup chopped pecans
13) 1 cup sugar free chocolate chips (I used Hershey's)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream first 6 ingredients.
Add the eggs and mix well.
Then add almond flour, coconut, oat flour and oat fiber and mix well.
Finally, add the pecans & chocolate chips!
Scoop about 1 Tbs of dough for each cookie.
Bake for 9 min (just until the edges get brown)
Let them cool for about 10 min (if you can wait that long!!)

These turned out like regular, bad-for-you cookies!!  They made my cookie-lovin' heart sing!

Ok, that's all I have time for today!
Blessings!
Dana

P.S. Here's my quote of the week!