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