Check Back With Me

As it may have been so blatantly implied by my last post... I have been pretty swamped around here lately. I apologize that my posting has been so sporadic. I don't even have a Supper-Time Sunday post for you because things have been SO crazy that I have hardly been cooking anything. Things are going to get better soon and slow down a little bit before they pick back up again near finals at the end of this month. I think tomorrow will be a pretty slammed day but then I am hopeful that the rest of the week will be a bit more calm.

Check back with me! I will be here. And I can't say that I am sorry that I will be MIA tomorrow. April Fool's Day is my least favorite holiday of the whole year. If you enjoy it, I hope you have a wonderful day pulling pranks on whomever. If you are like me, I hope you survive it and find reasons to enjoy the day despite any pranks that are pulled on you!

QUESTIONS FOR MY DEAR READERS: Do you like April Fool's Day? How do you celebrate the day? Have any of you caught the Spring cleaning bug?

Life's Lemons

I have so much admiration for those people that you come across in life that seem to be so positive all the time. They have struggles and trials and pains and yet they face life with a cheerfulness that lifts everyone around them.

I wish I could be like that.

I try to be. I really do. I try to think positively and to not worry so much and to not let things get to me.

But you know what?

They do.

And sometimes there are days in my life that I just don't know how I am going to keep going. How am I going to get everything done? How is this all going to work out? How could I possibly be happy through all of this?

When you feel like you are drowning in the lemons that life hands you where can you possibly find enough sugar to make it sweet?

Sometimes I think it isn't possible. Today I feel that it isn't possible. There is no way for me to make lemonade out of the situation I am facing. At best I think I can manage an undesirable concoction that you could barely choke down.

And so I sit, and cry, and sip bitter lemonade. Trying to get it down. Trying to get past it. Wondering if there is a bottom to my cup.

And I recognize all of those motivational things people say all of the time. I know that "everything is going to be okay" and "it can't last forever" and [insert motivational theory here].

I know those things. But right now it has just been too much for me to handle in a short period of time. And my husband is not here to  give me a hug and tell me those motivational things and help me to feel like everything will be okay.

I am alone with all of the nagging thoughts in my head, screaming at me to pay attention to them. And I want them to go away and leave me alone but they just won't.

I know that this is the point where I am supposed to turn all motivational and tell you, my readers, that things are going to be great and I'm going to get through this and "it's just a bad day, not a bad life."

And those things are true.

But right now I just need to sit and cry.

And we'll hope tomorrow is a better day.

QUESTIONS FOR MY DEAR READERS: Do you feel better after a good cry? What usually helps you to get through challenging situations?

Loves...Shayla

Spring Break Recap

Last week was spring break at my college. You know what that means? 

I spent a WHOLE lotta time with these beautiful babies:

And this handsome guy:

And worked really hard on this:

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And caught up on a lot of these:

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And totally and completely ignored this:

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And it made me feel like this:

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But now it is over and I am feeling like this:

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And trying hard to focus on this:

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And although:

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I am grateful I had a break.

QUESTIONS FOR MY DEAR READERS: Did you have Spring Break last week? Did you do anything fun? Did you get to relax?

Loves...Shayla

Lemon "Candy" Smoothie

Back when I could still eat refined sugar we used to love to go out for ice cream. Leatherby's Family Creamery has been a tradition in my family since before I can remember. I have a lot of great memories associated with that place; however, my favorite ice cream dessert was always the lemon shake from Iceberg. Oh MAN! That thing is so delicious. I have been missing it and craving it and so when I spotted some pure lemon extract at the store the other day I knew I had to pick some up and try it out.

The base of this smoothie is almost exactly the same as my Chocolate Spinach Protein Smoothie. A few tweaks here and there and you have what can only be described as pure heaven in a glass. Every time I make it for my cute hubster he goes on and on about how it tastes like candy. Since it has no added sugar... we'll let him believe that that is what it is made out of!

LEMON "CANDY" SMOOTHIE
Serves 2

*8 ounces coconut milk (or milk of choice)
1 large banana
1 large handful spinach or kale
1/4 tsp xanthan gum (optional, but give it a great thickness)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure lemon extract
**LOTS of ice

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

*We have been buying coconuts recently and so I usually add 6 ounces of water to the bottom of my Blendtec and then add in a few chunks of fresh coconut. I blend it on WHOLE JUICE for two cycles and then add the remaining ingredients. If you have a Blendtec or other high powered blender you can also make your own almond milk by following the same process with water and unsalted almonds. I will usually do 6 ounces of water and a little less than 1/4 cup almonds. Trust me - you won't have chunks if your blender is powerful enough!

**When I say lots of ice I am talking like at least 2-3 cups. I like my smoothies VERY thick and I usually only consider them finished if it takes a Level 5 mix on my Blendtec to get it to move. Just add it to your thickness preference.

Supper-Time Sunday

Hello friends! I hope your eats were delicious and nutritious this week. We had a crazy sort of week and so I don't have a ton of new eats for you but I have a couple. So here we go! 

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10-MINUTE STOVETOP GRANOLA

Recipe courtesy of Yes, I Want Cake

I love granola but it is expensive and a lot of time it has a ton of added ingredients that I would prefer my family not consume. However, making it at home can take several hours and I would definitely prefer spending those hours on something other than granola.

When I saw this recipe for 10-minute stovetop granola I new that I had to try it! My cute hubster LOVES granola and I was pretty sure my babies would enjoy it on their Activia yogurt as well. I was happy that it called for clean ingredients. The only added sugar is in the Craisins - I will probably use Deluxe Raisins next time so that I can enjoy the granola as well without any digestive repercussions. Unless someone knows where to buy unsweetened dried cranberries at a good price?

But back to the recipe! It really came together sooo quickly and was positively delicious! I don't think I will ever be able to make granola the long way again.

I made a few changes to the recipe. I used coconut oil instead of butter and I only had ground flaxseed on hand so I used about 1/4 cup. I used pure maple syrup instead of the honey and my unsweetened coconut is in ribbons but it worked just fine.

PIN IT!

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NAUGHTY NUTTY "NOODLES"

Recipe courtesy of Delightful Taste Buds

This is a recipe that you may have noticed has been on my meal plan for a long time. In all honesty, when it came time to make it it just didn't sound good to me so I never actually made it until today. I whipped up a batch and the kids and I sat on the floor with 3 forks and we munched away while watching Wreck it Ralph.

It turned out really good although I felt like the lemon was a bit overbearing. I love lemon, don't get me wrong, but next time I think that I will only use 1/2 a lemon to let some of the other flavors shine.

One of the best things about this recipe is its versatility. I, for once, didn't have carrots on hand so instead I grated up a fuji apple. The sweetness of the apple was a great compliment to the other flavors of the dish. I also used 1/2 green cabbage and 1/2 purple cabbage.

Some of the other changes that I made: I used reduced sodium Tamari instead of coconut aminos. You can use whatever soy sauce you have on hand. Be careful about the oil you use in the beginning. 1 tbsp of oil is too much to cook 2 eggs in a skillet. I would start with nonstick oil and then add 1 tbsp of oil when you are ready to add the onions to your pan. 

This dish tasted a lot like similar Asian noodle dishes that I have had at various restaurants and it is definitely worth a try for an easy and healthy meal!

PIN IT!

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QUESTIONS FOR MY DEAR READERS:  Have you ever made homemade granola? What is your favorite meatless meal?

Loves...Shayla

Slow Cooker Turkey Sloppy Joes

I have been craving sloppy joes like NO ONE'S BUSINESS! (Where did that expression come from anyways?) However... that is a very unfortunate craving to have when one cannot have gluten or sugar. I have been looking around the web at a bunch of different recipes and I really wanted to try the Tempeh Sloppy Joes that are on our menu this week but when it came time that I needed to get dinner ready I realized that I was out of Tamari and had no time to run to the store. I scanned through a few other recipes but didn't have all of the ingredients for any one of them so I decided I had to just come up with something.

And oh wow! It turned out AMAZING! Cute hubster LOVED it and so did I. It was the perfect flavor - rich and savory with just a touch of spiciness to it. I made the sauce out of two recipes that I adapted together. I used Worcestershire sauce this time (since that is what I had on hand) but next time I will use the Tamari when I actually have it!

Really, this is a very simple recipe if you can have store bought ketchup and barbecue sauce. I can't because of the things they usually add to it. All the sauce ingredients are are the ingredients for a homemade bbq sauce + homemade ketchup. This way I get to control the ingredients.

SLOW COOKER TURKEY SLOPPY JOES
PIN IT!
Sauce adapted from this recipe and this recipe

SAUCE
6 oz can tomato paste
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or honey, or agave)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
--------> You can replace all of the above ingredients with 1 1/3 cup ketchup.
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp brown sugar (I used date sugar)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or soy, or tamari)
3/4 tbsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp paprika (preferably smoked)
1/8 tsp cayenne
Black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and mix until completely blended. Bring mixture to a boil and then turn heat to low. Let simmer while you prepare the other ingredients

1 lb ground turkey (or chicken, or beef)
1 small yellow onion
2 large carrots, shredded
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup water

Brown the turkey with the onion until no longer pink. (You can use a bit of oil in your pan if you need to. 1 tbsp should be plenty or just spray with nonstick cooking spray.) Once the turkey is cooked through add it to your slow cooker.

Add carrots and celery to the same pan you cooked your turkey in. Add in water and cook until carrots are partially soft. Add veggies to the slow cooker, pour sauce on top, and mix all ingredients together thoroughly.

Cook on low for at least 1 1/2 hours. Add more water at the end if you need to to thin it out.

Serve on buns or do what I do and make a deconstructed sloppy joe salad! Yummy!

Home Improvement

Yesterday cute hubster stayed home from work so that we could get serious about working on our house. We aren't planning on moving soon or anything but with both of us in school and working and with two little kids running around there were definitely a lot of things that had been neglected over the years that we have been living there.

We started working as soon as I finished my class at the gym. Because cute hubster was home I got to attend Multi-Step at the gym and it was a blast! I got a very good sweat in and I feel like I am getting better and better at Step in general.

We finally brought the couch we were given in from the garage (it has been sitting in there for several weeks) and that necessitated that we rearrange the furniture in our basement. We reorganized and cleaned the entire basement and then started pinpointing improvements that needed to be made - a light fixture that needed replacing, blinds that needed replacing, curtains that needed to be put up, etc.

We made a "quick" trip to Wal-mart (meaning it should've been quick but ended up being quite long) and spent a pretty penny to obtain everything that we needed to do the little improvements throughout the house. As everything started to come together I felt an immense sense of satisfaction. No longer would I need to look at the hole in my ceiling and think, "We really need to get a light to cover that." No longer would I need to go into the newly established toy room and think, "I really wish this closet had a door or at least a covering of some sort."

And that really got me thinking about the way that we live our lives. I think that we get to a point where we are comfortable in the place that we are. We realize that there are little things that we have neglected here and there but they aren't things that interfere with our day-to-day functioning in the here and now so we ignore them and put improvements off.

I am starting to realize, though, that life and change is made up of a bunch of little improvements here and there. As we take the time to recognize the improvements that need to be made in our lives and put in the extra effort to make those improvements the satisfaction that comes with it will leave us wondering why we put it off for so long.

I am of the personality that always strives for improvement. I have had to maintain a careful balance between challenging myself and pushing myself to unrealistic expectations. But, little by little, I have made improvements in my life and I have reaped the benefits of those improvements.

So I guess what I want to leave you with today is this:

QUESTIONS FOR MY DEAR READERS: Are there improvements in your life that you have neglected for too long? Are there things that you know need to be changed but you haven't done it yet? Have you recently made improvements in your life? What were they and how did you go about changing them?

Loves...Shayla