Stuff This...

On this cold Texas morning I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes.
I have been wanting to share a healthy recipe with you since I started my journey.  So here is one of my favorites...

Italian Turkey Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps.

Sausage Stuffing recipe: 

2 lb. of ground turkey

2 tbsp Italian Seasoning

2 tbsp of Parsley 

1/2 cup Bread crumbs

1 tsp Ground Fennel seed

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 egg

Mix all of the seasoning and meat together feel free to let it sit and marry the flavors together for an hour or so.   After letting the meat rest you will lightly oil a skillet with EVOO and brown the sausage until fully cooked. I like making the sausage the night before so all you have to do is stuff the cap, heat through and serve.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Next, take the previously cooked sausage and mix it with 3/4 cup of Ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup grated parmesan and 2 cups of chopped baby portobello mushrooms.  

Remove the stems and scrape out the gills from the cap.  Season (salt & pepper to taste) the Portobello caps then lightly drizzle the caps with EVOO on both sides. 

Stuff the caps with the sausage mixture and roast the stuffed caps for 20 minutes.

I serve them with warmed marinara sauce and a heaping pile of salad.

This recipe will serve 4 so be prepared to share!

Enjoy the Journey!

Creating a Monster

How can this sweet faced person become a monster behind wheels!?!

Because she hasn't eaten.  Since my metabolism his gotten better I feel like I am eating all of the time. So this morning when I was running some errands and nearly bit the head of a woman who was driving in the lane next to me I decided (with the coaching of my husband) that maybe I needed to eat something.  So I picked up my two Starbucks fav's a Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte and Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon Breakfast sandwich.  And all was right in the world after a short period.  

So I guess I should apologize to the woman in the tan Camry,  I know you couldn't hear me but I am sure you so my mouth flapping like a flag in the wind.  Sorry.

On another note I am super excited to be taking a trip with my husband to celebrate his 40th birthday the end of next month.  I hope to get some serious hiking and shopping done.  But most of all I want to celebrate the birth of the man I so desperately love and who I can't imagine my life without.  

I can't believe your going to be 40 Joe!! Where has the time gone!

Enjoy the journey!

Have FAITH

I would like to think and say I am a woman of faith. 

I have been in the past but I have found myself over the past few years struggling with my faith. I have prayed and have felt that they haven't been answered. I have put more faith into the what's in my life as opposed to the Who in my life.  Now I know and have known since I was a little girl that God is fully involved in my life simply because I wouldn't be here today without him.  I have gotten myself into some sticky situations in my past and I have only survived them because of Gods patience and intervention.  But like so many people out there we get into the middle of things and we can't see the light at the end of tunnel, heck we couldn't even see the high beam right in front of us pointing us in the right direction.

But there is a verse that I always fall back on when I have struggled with not knowing what lies ahead for me.  "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see"  Hebrews 11:1 NIV.  There is a profound simplicity in this verse, Faith is something so much greater than myself.  God has this and I need to recognize that everyday.  

 All I can do is put my Faith in God knowing that he will be there every step of the way.  During every moment  I cry out to Him wondering why things haven't worked out the way I thought they should. He is there. Faith is knowing that His plan is happening whether we see it or not. 


Enjoy your journey.

Have FAITH that you are not alone.

Run Baby Run! Oops.

Happy New Year!

Fun fact the dress I'm wearing in this picture I bought for my honeymoon almost seven years ago. I didn't get a chance to wear it then and then I couldn't fit into it. So on Christmas Eve I had a moment of celebration when I put it on and it looked and fit so good. 

So as the new year started I decided to make a move...

And so now it's official I registered for the Dallas Rock and Roll half marathon yesterday and today I began some serious training.  I've been training before but sort of slacked off on my cardio for all sorts of reasons over the past couple of weeks. After Ice-mageddon hit the dallas area it was a challenge to get out and move in the cold and then I got a cold. So when my folks came into town for the holidays my mom and I went on a nice walk and got my blood flowing again.  

Until my oops. 

I was doing pretty good today up until I realized I had to use the restroom and I was in the middle of no where.  What do you do?  As a walking runner in training I was unsure as what to do. The last thing I need when in the middle of the 1/2 marathon is to have to use the bathroom.   

What would you recommend?

I would love to hear your ideas.

Over the hump with My Fitness Pal

Finished the Dallas Turkey Trot with a personal best. Felt a little bad that I left my husband behind as I creeped towards the start line. But when I finished the 3 miles in a personal best time of 38 minutes I was very happy.

I got caught up with the running group so by the end of the race I jogged about a total of a mile.  

Since then I've struggled for the past few weeks with a plateau. Now plateaus happen especially when losing weight it's how you respond to them that matters most. I initially thought I had been doing pretty good with my calorie and water intake but I was so wrong.

A good friend of mine introduced me to Fitness Pal. It is a great app that helps you track your calorie, water and fitness both cardiovascular and strength.  You can also connect with others on a similar journey so that you can mutually support and cheer each other on.

By taking each day and inputting all of my information I was able to see I wasn't eating enough for my body to burn or drinking enough water to keep things moving.  Since I started using MyFitness Pal I have been able to get over the hump and lose another 5 pounds. Yeah!

So here is my recommendation for the day and for your journey, download the Myfitness Pal app and start tracking your journey.  You will be surprised how your journey can get a jump start.

Staring the Holidays Down

Holidays can be the hardest time for a dieter. If you have ever been on a diet, whatever it was and you  were trying to stick to it during the holidays it was probably very hard.  I mean REALLY hard.  All of the treats, delicious food, gifts in the shape of cookies and loafs of bread.

Well I love the holidays. No really I'm sort of obsessed about them.  I am that crazy woman up at the pre-crack of dawn on Black Friday shopping.  I start my count down of the days until I can decorate my home sometime in June.  At this point I am practically counting the seconds until I can put my tree up on Friday.  There are so many wonderful memories with loved ones that center around the holidays. But I also remember all of the great food, my dad's hickory smoked turkey, snacking on egg salad before the big dinner.  And it doesn't hurt that I love to bake.  I make a mean apple pie.  Some of you might have even had some in the past and so you know it is a tasty treat.

Well my conundrum this year with my new journey is how I can stare down all of those delicious temptations and overcome my desire to dive into the stuffing, mashed potatoes and bread rolls.
So here is my plan.  I am going to face those temptations in their buttery faces and say, "I'm sorry but you are not worth the extra hour in the gym or having my trainer Kevin give me me painful lunges."

I will have the right portions of turkey, green beans, and salad. I might even have a small slice of my apple pie.  But I won't eat the entire thing and I won't feel bad when I do enjoy that slice.

Just make a plan for yourself but don't beat yourself up if find yourself indulging a little.  Just get out and move around whether it's Friday morning ;-) or even after dinner on Thursday.

So that's my plan.  Enjoy the right portion of the right foods and move afterwards.

Enjoy your journey.

Reevaluation of Giving Thanks

I have always tried to express my love and thanks for those around me through gifts.  What happens though are those gifts tend to turn out to be food.  While on this journey I have found that there needs to be a reevaluation of how express my love and the gifts I give.  Especially if I want to have "Healthy" relationships.

I have found that when I have given gifts whether it was food or something else I have always wanted the receiver to know how I feel for them and the impact they have had on my life. I hope that I have been in some way an impact on someone else's life especially in a positive way.

For so many people today we take advantage of our friends, family and those people we "love" assuming that they know how we feel for them.  We don't say the words that need to be said or take moments that need to be taken. So maybe taking advantage is a bit strong but do the people in your life know how you feel for them? Do they know you appreciate them and the impact they have had in your life?

With Thanksgiving fast approaching and all of the celebrations that come with it.  Families being reunited, traditions being continued and new memories being made. I will continue on this journey reevaluating my expressions of my love and thanks.  Take the time with your family and take a moment to express your love and thanks to the loved ones in your life.

Enjoy the journey.