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!

It's HERE!!!!!

I ordered The Spunj & Orange Silk this week and I can't wait to use them!!!  I'm going to take a before pic and another pic in 2 weeks.  Check back in 2 weeks to see the results!

On another note, I'm so proud that I've been 100% on plan for 9 days!  We are having a birthday dinner tonight and I made Mrs Criddle's Coconut Creme Pie! Can't wait to try it!!  I'll make the whipped topping before I go to my In-laws!

http://mrscriddleskitchen.com/thm-coconut-cream-pie/

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Blessings!

Dana

7 day 100% challenge

I'm proud to say that I'm on Day 6 of my 7 day 100% on plan challenge!!  I've been tempted to eat sugar/junk but I've had a meal plan and ready-to-eat snacks that have kept me on track!  

Another idea I've been experimenting with is a bullet journal!

I'm loving it!!  There are several tutorials on You Tube and I'm working on adapting the idea to my needs.....I'll do a whole post on my journal in a month or two!

Ok!  Super yummy recipe of the week goes to.......Briana Thomas' Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake!  So delish!  I don't yet have the new THM baking blend 😢, so I subbed a rounded cup of almond flour.....it worked great!  Here's the recipe and a pic of a piece of mine.....don't judge, mine didn't turn out as pretty as Briana's!!

http://m.briana-thomas.com/okyrdr1/articles/51048/Pecan-Streusel-Coffee-Cake

Blessings,

Dana

I'm being proactive!!

So I shared last week that I was struggling with late night eating.  I've cut up cucumbers, bought baby carrots, made ranch dip, bought Breyers Carbsmart ice cream, found my Lilly's chocolate and bagged up some nuts!  I discovered my problem was not having 'instant' food to grab at night!  I used to eat Little Debbie's snacks or chips.....yep, I had a terrible diet before THM!  

I'm happy to say that even though I went on a ladies retreat last weekend and ate off plan, I still lost 3 lbs last week!  Yay!!  I'm still working through what I gained back but I'm so glad the scale is moving in the right direction!!

I made this pic to put on my phone to help remind me to make right choices where I am right now....feel free to use it!!

Blessings!!

Dana

 

1st day 100% on plan!!

Well, the first day this week!  I've been struggling with late night eating, so I've been heading to bed a bit earlier and that has really helped!

Ok, I tried a new recipe and HAD to share!!!  It was so good and it was an E meal!  Having PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome), S meals work best for me and since I'm a former Atkins dieter, they are they easiest to figure out.  But this salad is a game changer!

Here's the link.....

http://mrscriddleskitchen.com/taco-salad-crunch/

The only thing I changed was using chicken breast instead of ground turkey only because it's what I had!

I hope you give it a try!!!

Blessings,

Dana

Why do I ever go off plan?!?!

For the first time in over 2 months, I woke up with NO PAIN in my knee!!!!!!  PTL!!!  I walked around a bit to see if I was dreaming!!!

Yesterday, my NSV was not using hydrocodone for the first time in forever even after being out and about all day.....

Today, my NSV is waking up pain FREE!!!!  As in, walking like a normal person (not a 100 year old), no limping or leaning on counters/walls!!

I'm about to do physical therapy so the pain will come, but right now I'm taking a moment to praise God for THM!!!!  (And I might be crying a little!)

A little history - 

I tore my ACL & bruised my tibia 2 months ago stepping out of my bathtub when my femur popped out of my knee joint to the left, hit my tibia and popped back into place when I hit the floor.  My knee was so loose, the bones below/above my knee would rotate in opposite directions. - I went off plan about 3 weeks ago and was in agony with lots of pain & swelling but didn't put 2 & 2 together!  I've had a huge reduction in swelling and pain from only being back on plan for 4 days!!!  Thank you, Pearl & Priscilla!!

-sorry this ended up being a novel!!

I ❤️ Tuna Patties!

I know I just posted but I really wanted to share this recipe!  It's so good!

Here's the link.....

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tuna_patties/

I subbed 1/2 a Joseph's Lavash bread for the white bread crumbs and I didn't have green onions so I just used part of a yellow onion!  

It seemed kind wet when I patted my patties out, but as I cooked them they firmed up!

I ate one pattie with a salad (butter lettuce is my favorite!) dressed with mozzarella cheese and honey Dijon dressing (Walden Farms)!  So yummy!!

Hope you'll try it out soon!!

Blessings!

Dana

Seriously life has been NUTS the last 5 months!!!

Where to even start!  My hubby ended up in the hospital for 6 days, had an open wound that had to be packed for 2 weeks, then redressed daily for 4 more weeks, weekly infectious disease Dr visits, and a PICC line for daily IV meds for 6 weeks!  Whew!!  

Then in April I started having severe uterine bleeding and in mid-May I had a D&C.  Thankfully I didn't have endometrial cancer but did have a large polyp that couldn't be seen on u/s because my lining was so thick.  

Two weeks later I fell out of my bathtub, tore my ACL & bruised my tibia.  I'm most likely not going to need surgery but physical therapy has been hard.  Taking things MUCH slower has been hard too.  

Two weeks after I injured my knee, my hubby had surgery to repair 3 hernias!  We are praying that we are finished with illnesses/injuries/surgeries for a VERY long time!!  LOL!

Through all of this the Lord has been faithful!  We are so thankful for His goodness!  I've taken this time of forced rest to spend time with my girls & family.  I've also relaxed a bit about housework and in giving my girls more grace in learning to do things around the house!  

I'm also excited to say that through all of that, I stayed pretty well on plan with Trim Healthy Mama!!  I'm down 25 lbs and feel great!  I really believe THM has helped the swelling in my knee and the healing process!! Here's a pic of my progress since December 2014...

I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in the coming months!  I know that God has big plans and that's why Satan has tried so hard to stop us.....he will not succeed because our God is bigger, stronger & will win in the end!!

Blessings!

Dana

Life can get hairy.....

Well!  My hubby has an infected finger.  When it started bothering him 2 weeks ago, I pulled out the Epsom salts and essential oils and went to work!  I treated it 2-3x a day for a week.  It did not get better.  It got worse.

Last Friday we had it lanced and spent all weekend on pain meds, antibiotics and draining it.  (gag)  Monday, the dr looked at it and immediately called to schedule an appt for hubby with a hand surgeon.  Found out today that he has osteomyelitis (a bone infection) and it has infected about 1/2 of top bone in his left index finger.  We are in the ER waiting for a hospital room so he can have surgery tomorrow to open his finger up, scrape the infected bone & remove the rest of the infected tissue.  YUCK.  It's a resistant infection so he'll also be on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks. 

We're still processing all that info and covet your prayers!!

Blessings!

Dana Sharp

Here I am.....again.

Well.  It's been over a year since my last post.  I'd love to tell you that I spent that year following THM and am close to my goal weight.....but I can't.  Unfortunately I fell into a bad cycle of getting on plan, hating the sugar detox, falling off plan and gaining more weight than before.  I fell into a pit that I had a VERY hard time getting out of, but the good news is, I did it!  I started re-reading Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst and it has really helped!  I've been working through it slowly while trying to apply what I'm learning.  It isn't easy, but is so worth it!  Dec. 1, 2014 I started doing THM half-heartedly and the last 2 weeks I've been totally committed!  I'm down 13.5 lbs as of this morning and I'm THRILLED!
One area I've struggled with in the past is the fact that I'm what the THM book calls a Drive Thru Sue.  I love it when food is simple and easy and doesn't require hours of prep time!  It's been a bit of a challenge to find my groove in that area, but I think I've finally managed it!  I'll do a more extensive post about that another time!
Another struggle I've had is the fact that my hubby does not follow THM.  He likes his carbs with fats, he likes his sugar-laden sweet tea, he does not like anything with almond flour!  It's made things a bit of a challenge.  As I continue to figure out how to cook dinners to suit both of us, I'll share those tweaks and adjustments!
In the past I've lost about 10 lbs and then quit.  I tried to be a purist and I'm just not!  I'm a Drive Thru Sue and I don't mind using an occasional off plan item to make my life easier!  So, if you are a purist, good for you!!  For me, coming from such a horrible, junk-infused past diet.....using a bit of sucralose or carbquick or an occasional diet Dr. Pepper doesn't phase me.  I may eventually phase these things out, but not right now.  That is part of the beauty of this plan!  You can work it to fit your lifestyle!
Ok, it's now 1am and my laptop is runing out of juice (and so am I!!).  It's great to be back!  Can't wait to share my experiences and recipes and adventures on this journey!!

Blessings!

Dana