Stuff happens. And if you’ve been keeping up here, you know that it’s been happening in my kitchen. We’re nearing completion, but at the time when I should have been announcing the October First Friday Freebie winner, it was really happening! Then, there was an email glitch and the winner didn’t get notified in a timely manner and I didn’t get it mailed out in a timely manner. I also didn’t get the announcement made. I’m starting to think that time has no manners.
Anyhow, give a belated cheer to October’s winner –
Jean from Hurricane, Utah!
Congratulations, Jean!
It is news to me that they have hurricanes in Utah, but maybe Jean could give us some history behind that name in the comments.
I love interesting town names. Once, in high school, my best friend and I got hold of an old zip code directory and found ourselves in fits of hysterical laughter as we perused the pages. I must do that again sometime on some gloomy day when I need a lift.
Jean won the pretty necklace you see her wearing in the photo and she agrees with me that it is much prettier than it appears in photos. Jean has won a First Friday Freebie in the past, so check out all the past winners and their gifts hereon my Freebies! page.
If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.
NOTE: If you enjoy entering to win, please make sure you subscribe with an email you intend to keep and will likely be checking the week after the drawings. This is my only means of letting winners know they’ve won and so if your email isn’t up to date, you may not get your gift!
Look for the subscription area. It’s easy to find on the “CONTACT” page and after subscribing, confirm your subscription when the confirmation email arrives in your inbox. If you’ve done that and not received a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com – it seems that from time to time, a subscription will get “stuck”.
Subscribing is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.
Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.
Freebies help me reach more people with my stories, recipes and more. When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free. Are you catching on this is a free thing?
Coming soon: December’s First Friday Freebie – that takes place on Friday, December 3rd. You’ll see a photo of the Freebie and you can enter to win at any point all day that day. Don’t forget to check the email that you used to subscribe for notification that you’ve won.
A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing.
ONCE AGAIN (because you tend to forget): Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe. That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.
Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.
These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, December 3rd, 2021.
Next up: November’s winner – in a more timely manner.
Don’t I sound humble? Well, when you’ve got six “Golden Ladles” under your belt – wait! Those were for soups. I’ve never entered a stuffing-making contest, but I’d have to admit, this would be my entry.
I’ve decided that there are three groups of people when it comes to stuffing opinions. Yea, even unto four.
First there are “the-nasty-stuff-shall-never-pass-these-lips” people. I don’t understand these people. After all, it’s a pilgrimage. Keep trying. I know I’ve personally swayed some nose-wrinklers with this recipe.
Next, there is a group of folks I don’t even trust. Someone walks in with a pan of something that resembles stuffing and I’m gonna ask what’s in it – and not so much because I’m concerned that they’ve loaded it with unhealthy ingredients. You have to give these people a second, meaningful look and ask exactly what’s in it. That’s because at some point in history, someone somewhere put oysters in stuffing and told people this was not only acceptable, but tasty. Your life is in your own hands, but my advice is to beware of this group.
Then, there are those folks who cling to the stuffing I grew up on. White bread, torn into hunks and drowned in seasoned broth is baked until it becomes…well, white bread drowned in seasoned broth. There might be an egg or two in there, but generally, you probably need a spoon and it’s nothing special. I take that back. It is something special – it’s memories. It’s what our granny made and it’s stuck in our minds as the thing to do. God bless these folks. May they happily feast on it and leave more of mine for me!
The final group is the one I call home. It’s the “let’s-go-all-out-and-throw-in-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” group. Flavors, textures, aromas – all blending into a glorious symphonic culinary masterpiece. Don’t say I don’t know how to overdo it.
I like to give credit where credit is due. Many years ago, I checked a book out of the public library called “The Thanksgiving Cookbook” by Holly Garrison. (This was way back when healthy ingredients didn’t seem to matter that much in our household, especially on a holiday.) This book was loaded with yummy stuff and I still use the skillet green bean recipe. I checked and found the book is still available used on websites like www.discoverbooks.com , www.mercari.com , and www.ebay.com in the $5-$8 range. However, there seem to have been different editions and I don’t know how they differ.
The stuffing recipe in Holly’s book really rocked my world. I’d been looking for something “different” and this was not only something I’d never had before – it was hearty, delicious – it was a stuffing “experience”. Still, over the years I’ve adapted it quite a bit, not only to fit the THM plan as a crossover (XO), but to our personal tastes as well. Thanks to Holly Garrison for inspiring me with the basic idea of using sausage, sage and apples – something I never would have come up with on my own.
Be sure to check the notes following the recipe! And, don’t forget there’s a free printable – It prints as a double so you can share with a friend!
Coach Barb’s Stuffing-to-End-All-Stuffings with Sage, Sausage and Apples “XO”
1 pound turkey breakfast sausage, browned and seasoned with plenty of extra sage.
16 slices (20 ounces) sprouted grain bread, torn or broken into postage stamp sized pieces and DRIED
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons dried sage or 1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped fine
3/4 cup toasted, coarsly chopped walnuts
2 large (or 3 if smaller) golden delicious apples, peeled and cubed (1/2 inch or smaller)
2 teaspoons mineral salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
3 large eggs, beaten
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup chicken broth with NO SUGAR
1/2 cup heavy cream
Coconut oil cooking spray
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9″X13″ baking dish (or LARGER) with cooking spray.
In the VERY large mixing bowl where your bread has been drying, add the browned meat, celery, onion, sage, walnuts, apples, salt, pepper and caraway, tossing together with a large spoon as you go.
Whisk the melted butter, almond milk, broth and heavy cream into the bowl with the beaten eggs. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir well.
Pour into the baking dish. Cover and bake one hour or until done in center, removing the cover after 30 minutes to allow for some yummy crustiness on top.
NOTES:
Sage: There are years when the frost gets my sage plant before Thanksgiving rolls around, but that didn’t happen this year. Just remember that you’ll need half as much dried sage as you would fresh.
Drying Bread: I use a mixture of bread heels and chunks of homemade sourdough I’ve had frozen along with some store-bought sprouted grain bread such as the Knock Your Sprouts Off bread from Aldi in order to come up with the required twenty ounces. I put it in a huge mixing bowl on Sunday or Monday ahead of Thursday’s feast and several times a day as I walk by, I reach in and give the bread pieces a toss. By the time you’re ready to make stuffing, they’ll be dried out and crouton-like. This needs to happen or they will not be able to soak up the goodness you’re going to apply.
Veggies: Folks will be unhappy with chunks of squashy celery in their mouths, so please go to the extra effort to get the celery and onions pretty small. I leave the last inch or so at the base of a celery stalk connected as a “handle” and run a knife down the stalk separating it into four long strips. Then, squeeze them together and slice them all at once down to the base end and then toss it.
Broth: You could use bone broth or regular chicken broth. Just be sure to adjust the amount of mineral salt in the recipe based on the amount of sodium in the broth. I prefer to have minimal salt in the broth and add my own salt.
The Pan: I use a clear glass baking dish that, while it might be mistaken for a 9X13” at first glance, my other pans of that size will easily fit down into it with a little wiggle room. This is a big pan of stuffing, so if you’re serving just a few people, you may want to make a half recipe until you decide you like it and then you’ll probably want to make the whole thing and freeze the leftovers.
Now, grab your free printable and start your adventure and see if you don’t think this is the Stuffing-To-End-All Stuffings! Check out the THM on-plan Thanksgiving menu here that has been taste-tested and approved by the members I coach in my weekly Food Freedom sessions.
In the group coaching sessions I teach weekly, I do cooking demonstrations and in our countdown to the holidays, the members have gotten to experience several recipes that enable them to have a complete Thanksgiving feast and still stay on plan with THM. If you’d like our suggested Thanksgiving menu, click here.
Remember those “golden ladles” I mentioned earlier. If you’d like my all-time favorite soup, click here. This one is the winner of three of those awards!
If you need support in your journey to better health and weight loss, head to the Contact page and let me know. I’ll give you all the info on group sessions which I conduct locally in person on a weekly basis. Private coaching can be done in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
Which stuffing camp do you belong to? Leave a comment and give me your thoughts.
When I first started to really eat healthy, like many other people, one of my thoughts was “What in the world am I going to eat on Thanksgiving and Christmas?” It’s all “frankenfood” – or haven’t you noticed?
At first, I just considered it a time to splurge and I knew I had the grit and determination to get back on track afterward. After a year or two of that, I realized it wasn’t worth it. I felt horrible after those meals!
These last few years, I’ve developed a plan that enables me to indulge in all the yummy foods without feeling the least bit deprived on the holidays. Deprived is something I have no intention of being. I am a volume eater and I can really put the stuff away!
Now, as a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach, I knew my clients needed to be able to do the same. Most of them have never been through an entire holiday season during which they needed to try to stay on plan.
That’s why we’ve been focusing lately on how to put together a fabulous Thanksgiving meal that won’t raise your blood sugar, mess with your hormones or negatively affect your health in any way. We all acknowledge that it is a day of feasting and there may be a level of calorie intake that doesn’t occur during average daily living, but that doesn’t mean the ingredients have to be destructive to our health. Also, in THM eating, “crossover” (XO) meals might not help with weight loss, but they are definitely on plan and after all – it’s a feast!
Some of the recipes I’ll be mentioning here are from the Trim Healthy Mama cookbooks. They are such a valuable resource even for those of you who may not be interested in losing weight or doing the plan, but who are interested in fabulous and simple recipes for real families living real lives who want to be healthier. You can find them here or you can also check with your public library or places such as eBay and maybe catch a bargain. I use all three of their cookbooks all the time, so this has proven to be a great investment.
NOTE: The Trim Healthy Mama site is down as I am typing this due to the mad rush caused by their Cyber Monday sale, so please be patient.
In my weekly Food Freedom group sessions, we’ve been focusing on the countdown to Thanksgiving by demonstrating and taste-testing a different recipe each week leading up to the big event. Here’s the menu that my class taste-tested and agreed would let them feast while staying on plan.
Turkey: That’s a given in most households at Thanksgiving and it’s a great healthy choice. We’ve been brining the bird at our house for years and recently I noticed on the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook page that they have brining instructions that are very similar to what we are used to doing. Scared of having a dry bird and ending up with a scene at the big dinner that resembles the one in the Christmas Vacation movie? Brining is simple and totally prevents this disaster. See the THM version here.
Coach Barb’s Stuffing-to-End-All Stuffings: All I can say here is that I’m gonna try. I have adapted my stuffing recipe to fit the THM plan as a crossover (XO) and I think it’s the best stuff ever. There are two camps when it comes to stuffing and mine falls into the “throw-everything-in-there-but-the-kitchen-sink” category. Some folks are fall into the “brothy-bread-with-some-seasoning-and-you-might-need-a-spoon” category. I’ll try to get the recipe posted here before the big day. If you’ve been eating healthy for a while, you know there will need to be some bread changes here from the type of stuffing you grew up with or the boxed version.
Mashed Fotatoes: There are a lot of recipes out there that call for substituting cauliflower for those high-glycemic, carb-bomb taters we were all taught to eat, but this one is yummy. It’s found on page 219 of “Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook”. I make it exactly as directed. The only tip I can offer here is to stick close during the cooking process and then get the cauliflower straight into a colander and toss well right away to get every last bit of water out. That is the most important thing to remember.
Basic Gravy: This gravy is delicious and it’s a Fuel Pull (FP) or can be made with pan drippings and/or heavy cream to make it even more delightful. Doing this will, of course, swing it over into the “S” category, but hey! It’s Thanksgiving! Check it out on page 483 of “Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook”.
Green Bean Casserole: This one recently popped up on the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook page and I couldn’t resist demonstrating it for my class. It was a hit, so you can get the recipe from the THM Facebook page post of November 1, 2021 or use the slow-cooker version in the post on November 21, 2021.
Macafoni and Cheese: I confess to not having tried this one yet, but it looks and sounds so yummy that it is on my list to make soon. I also spotted it on the THM Facebook page post of October 29, 2021.
Pumpkin Silk Pie: We were all so impressed at how decadent this simple pie is. You can also make it into squares, but I tend to think of Thanksgiving as Pie Time, don’t you? The crust, made with almond flour, is a mixture that goes from the food processor into the pan and is pressed into place with your fingers. The filling goes into the blender, which takes the pumpkin from its usual fibrous texture into a smooth-as-silk delight. I topped mine with homemade whipped cream by simply pouring the cream into the mixer, adding 1/8 Tablespoon of salt, a tablespoon or two of Gentle Sweet, a splash of vanilla extract and a tiny bit of freshly ground nutmeg and whipping on high speed. I can’t say enough good things about this pie! (see photo.) You’ll find it in “Trim Healthy Table” on pages 410-411.
Pumpkin Muffins: If you absolutely don’t have enough time to make the pie for this special occasion, try this recipe on page 272 if “Trim Healthy Future”. They are a super-simple dump ‘n stir type of recipe and the Cream Cheese Icing (with the Maple Burst flavoring added) on page 372 is the perfect crowning glory. These are so easy and so yummy that I could seriously form an addiction to this healthy dessert and have to start hoarding cans of pumpkin.
If you need support in your journey to better health and/or weight loss, head to the Contact page and let me know. I’ll give you all the info on group sessions which I conduct locally in person on a weekly basis. Private coaching can be done in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
The Trim Healthy Mama Plan is a great way to boost your immune system and we all need that right now, don’t we? Leave a comment when you try these great recipes and tell me how you like them.
Offer up some extra thanks this season to the One who blesses us with all good things!
November’s First Friday Freebie post didn’t post! How aggravating.
I was simply way too busy today to check on it as I usually do. Please feel free to take until midnight on Saturday, November 6th to enter to win by commenting as directed on the original post HERE.
The nip is in the air, the colored leaves blanket my yard, the air has that certain crispness and the urge is there to grab a jacket and stroll hand-in-hand with the one I love. So, Smuffy patted me on the shoulder the other night and said, “Maybe next year.” Folks, I’m telling you, this kitchen remodel must end soon. This is why things have gone awry here on the blog and again, I give my apologies. Better days are ahead, but right now, life’s a blur of small finishing details.
Yesterday, I found myself weaving around a ladder in the kitchen, trying to gather things together for my Trim Healthy Mama class and answer Smuffy’s questions about the appropriate distance between open shelving, trying to explain to Phoebe June that despite the presence of three of her humans in the vicinity of her dish she had already had a snack and listening to Lil’ Snookie’s request for “Puh-SHOPSH Cimmin” (applesauce with cinnamon if you’re twenty-two months old). It will be a sad day when he actually learns how to pronounce applesauce, because I get the giggles every time he asks for it.
About that time there came a dim realization, forming in the spaghetti-like mass in the frontal lobe that I had arrived upon the eve of November’s First Friday Freebie and still am in possession of the Freebie that remains homeless!
As stated in the First Friday Freebie rules, the winner will be notified via the email used to subscribe. It’s vital when you enter to win that you check that same email regularly in the week or two following the drawing to see if you’ve won. October’s winner was “Julie”. I emailed Julie, but have received no response, so I am going to put the freebie back into circulation again since I don’t know who Julie is.
Julie, if you’re out there, I’m sorry it didn’t work out, but since I have no other means to contact you, it’s time to re-draw for the free gift.
So, here we go, let’s take a look at that First Friday Freebie again. I’m going to throw in a surprise bonus gift along with it to make things extra special for November.
This beautiful scarf by Capelli New York will look great with all your fall fashion with its tan and soft white tones. It’s 100% acrylic, very soft and is hand washable. Including the fringe, it measures approximately 72” X 5.5”, so it’s long enough to loop and tie in all sorts of fun ways or wrap around your neck twice on those extra frigid days.
It was a great find at my local Factory Connection, where I often find fun fashion and great home décor at good prices.
To enter to win the Capelli New York scarf, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “Keep me cozy again, Midwest Storyteller!” You’ll need to do that before midnight TONIGHT, November 5th, 2021.
NOTE: An occasional problem occurs with subscribers not receiving confirmation emails. Should this happen, email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com so that I can report it and have the issue resolved.
First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so you’ll want to subscribe over on the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page where you can subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so.
I hope you get excited about winning freebies and share them and my blog stories with your friends and family through all your social media. If you like an idea, recipe or story you see here, be sure to hover over the photo and “pin it”. Help me get the word out!
On the “Freebies”page, you can see what readers have been winning every month.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight, November 5th, by leaving a comment which says, “Keep me cozy again, Midwest Storyteller”. Remember, there’s an extra surprise included!
For the complete First Friday Freebie rules,click here.
Why not subscribe and confirm right now before you forget?
If you’re somewhere where the snow is already flying – better you than me. If you’re somewhere where you’re basking in sunny warmth – enjoy every minute. If you’re here in the Midwest like me – make the best of your daily surprises and during this season of Thanksgiving, give the Good Lord your gratitude!
I’d feel just a bit silly if I didn’t know full well that things are about to change. This is the Midwest, after all, and we’ve been known to have a fifty to seventy degree variance in temperature within a twenty-four hour period. Still, as I sit here with the windows open and the ceiling fan in my office circulating the eighty degree air, the October First Friday Freebie seems entirely uncalled for!
You’ll be ready for that nip in the air when it arrives, or maybe it already has in your neck of the woods.
This beautiful scarf by Capelli New York will look great with all your fall fashion with its tan and soft white tones. It’s 100% acrylic, very soft and is hand washable. Including the fringe, it measures approximately 72” X 5.5”, so it’s long enough to loop and tie in all sorts of fun ways or wrap around your neck twice on those extra frigid days.
It was a great find at my local Factory Connection, where I often find fun fashion and great home décor at good prices.
To enter to win the Capelli New York scarf, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “Keep me cozy, Midwest Storyteller!” You’ll need to do that before midnight TONIGHT, October 1st, 2021.
NOTE: An occasional problem occurs with subscribers not receiving confirmation emails. Should this happen, email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com so that I can report it and have the issue resolved.
First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so you’ll want to subscribe over on the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page where you can subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so.
I hope you get excited about winning freebies and share them and my blog stories with your friends and family through all your social media. If you like an idea, recipe or story you see here, be sure to hover over the photo and “pin it”. Help me get the word out!
On the “Freebies”page, you can see what readers have been winning every month.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight, October 1st, by leaving a comment which says, “Keep me cozy, Midwest Storyteller”.
For the complete First Friday Freebie rules, click here.
Why not subscribe and confirm right now before you forget?
October is like May – you just can’t get enough of either one. Enjoy each crisp and colorful day!
[NOTE: I openly disclose on this blog that as a certified lifestyle coach through Trim Healthy Mama, I may receive financial benefit from those who desire to enlist my services privately or in a group setting.]
I’ve learned to love to cook. It wasn’t always so. It wasn’t always easy. A combination of things has made my kitchen efforts frustrating through the years.
One would think, growing up on a farm with a nine-member household, I would have learned to be an excellent cook right off the bat. However with five sisters who were quite a bit older, there were enough of them to fill up the kitchen and I’m sure my mom preferred I not be underfoot. After they all began to leave home on their journey through life, I think my mom must have been relieved not to be making soup in a wash basin anymore and to have the kitchen to herself. I poked around in there, fixed myself after-school snacks and helped out when company came, but the skills you get from daily having to sling hash and get it all on the table hot and ready was a training that I missed.
Then, I married Smuffy. Smuffy’s mama had spoiled him rotten in the food category. He’d lived a life where all he had to do was sigh and whisper that he wouldn’t mind a little bit of this or a small dab of that and it appeared before him in no time at all accompanied by about a dozen other delights he hadn’t even asked for.
I thought I hated to cook and that I was bad at it. Yet, there was always a certain sense of adventure when it came to foods and I’d often find myself thinking that I wanted to try to make something new and exciting I’d tasted at a party or seen in a magazine. Plus, I have a huge appetite and just plain love to eat.
Another factor that tripped me up on my road to being a good cook was the fact that I tend to be distracted. Forgetting to thaw things out, neglecting to turn the burner down, not setting the timer – these were only a few of the things that made me wish we could just eat out all the time.
In hindsight, I’m thankful that the budget prohibited that because I see so many people who are enmeshed in the restaurant culture and most of them are barely able to waddle back and forth to their cars or are afflicted with a myriad of health problems.
Necessity being the mother of invention, I learned to be a really good cook over time and that Pookie of mine – she can really put the love on a meal. However, distraction is still a problem for me, especially now that Lil’ Snookie is here demanding my attention. I’ve learned to do a lot of simple prep-ahead things to make throwing yummy meals together less of a strain.
Since health is a major concern, I avoid pre-made and pre-mixed items that are always loaded with sugar or other ingredients that aren’t going to lead us down the road to better health. Grabbing each and every tiny little ingredient out of the pantry or spice cabinet slows me down and frustrates me when I’m cooking.
I know I could always parcel out things into little snack baggies to have them ready to dump into recipes, but they slip and slide and are difficult for me to keep organized. I thought I’d share this great find that is helping me cut down on steps and stress.
These great mini craft paper bags with resealable lock seal zipper and transparent windows were an Amazon find and are from Kingrol. They are 3/5 X 5.5 inches. This is the smallest of three sizes and is just right for that small amount of “mix” you want to grab and whip up something quick. They are reusable. If you prefer not to buy from Amazon, you can do a search and probably find them elsewhere online.
These are great for the dry ingredients that go into so many things – taco seasoning, Wonder Wraps, my Chocolate Collagen Trimmy and my oatmeal fixin’s, to name a few.
The bags are made of high-quality kraft paper with food grade PE inner membrane. Sturdy, waterproof and leak-proof, they should keep the contents from moisture and offer good shelf life.
They were advertised to have a stand-up design. This must be a feature on the medium and large bags only, because the smaller size I ordered do not have a gusseted bottom. I like that they have a little rectangle matte window that allows me to get a glimpse of the contents and save time when snatching them out of the cupboard.
The heat sealable feature is something I won’t use because I plan to use them only for dry mixes and then re-fill them. The resealable zippers seem to zip fairly easily and stay shut.
I didn’t mind ordering in quantity because I do make a lot of homemade mixes and also because I like to give some of these away as gifts sometimes and these bags will make a much nicer presentation for that than a plastic zippy bag.
So, yes, I did order 300 of them and it will take me a while to use those up, but it will happen. Next time, I think I’ll order the larger size because these will be a bit of a tight squeeze for certain things. The whole pack costs around $18 which makes them six cents each. Not bad.
I started off by filling them with some of my favorite items that fit the THM plan. I’ll include a few simple recipes.
Wonder Wraps II (FP): These are on page 251 of “Trim Healthy Table” cookbook. They can be made in a big batch, but I usually make the small batch when we do tacos. I put the THM Baking Blend, Mineral Salt, Whole Husk Psyllium Flakes and nutritional yeast in the bag and then just stir it in with the three wet ingredients when the time comes. Tat makes so much less I have to think about when I’m busy.
2. Coach Barb’s Morning Oatmeal (E): I have this two or three mornings a week and get tired of measuring out every little thing. I soak 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats in water in my bowl overnight. In the morning, I place a hand over it and drain off most of the water. Then, I dump in the packet which contains – 1 Tablespoon grass-fed beef collagen, 1 skimpy Tablespoon chopped walnuts (for a bit of fat to help my carbs absorb), 1/2 Tablespoon Pristine Whey Powder (plain), 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, a generous 1/8 teaspoon mineral salt, 12-15 raisins and a doonk or two of Pure Stevia. Mix this well into the oats before stirring in a generous 1/4 cup water. Microwave for one minute. Then, stir in another generous 1/4 cup water and microwave for another minute. (This process helps to avoid an oatmeal mess in the microwave.) That’s it. Tweak the spices and sweetness to suit yourself, keeping in mind that getting all silly with raisins will spike your blood sugar and that’s a no-no and adding more walnuts will be “on plan” but will turn this into a Crossover, which will not aid in weight loss.
Note: You can use another whey powder. Just be sure it is cross-flow and micro-filtered. You can use any other on-plan sweetener, but it will take a lot more.
3. Chocolate Collagen Trimmy (FP with an S option): I fill the bag with 2 Tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon grass-fed beef collagen, 1/2 tablespoon Pristine Whey Powder (see note above) 3/8 teaspoon Pure Stevia, 1/4 teaspoon Sunflower Lecithin and 1/8 teaspoon mineral salt. When you are ready for a trimmy, pour an inch or so of hot water into the bottom of a 12 ounce (or larger) mug. Add the contents of the packet and a splash of pure vanilla extract and stir well with a mini whisk before filling your mug the rest of the way. If you’re feeling like a real hot chocolate experience is called for, add a tablespoon of heave cream for an “S” treat. A collagen drink like this will give you protein to balance your blood sugar and keep your tummy full for a long time. It’s a great way to avoid having your hand in a snack jar all day.
NOTE: Keep in mind that I like my chocolate dark and enjoy a bit of the bitter here. You may have to do some tweaking of the ratio of chocolate to sweetener to get this to be the mug of goodness that speaks to your soul. Also, nothing compares to the Dutch process cocoa powder. I am spoiled to it and any of the cans of cocoa powder we’ve been accustomed to finding in the stores all these years are icky to me now. I highly recommend you try some! I get mine at my local bulk food store.
4. Taco Seasoning Mix: It’s so great just to be able to take a pound of browned burger, sprinkle on this packet knowing that it has no sugar and no other stupid ingredients, stir in a half cup of water and simmer for a bit. I’ve offered this recipe up before along with a free printable and you can find it here.
If you need support in your journey, head to the Contact Me page and let me know. I’ll give you all the info on group sessions which I conduct locally in person on a weekly basis. Private coaching can be done in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
Tempted but not sure? Check out the Trim Healthy dish I made here and see if it doesn’t make your mouth water!
The Trim Healthy Mama Plan is a great way to boost your immune system and we all need that right now, don’t we? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.
The sounds of autumn are coming through the open windows of my office as I type this and I marvel that I find it a pleasant sound when it is actually a multitude of the insect host singing whatever it is they sing to each other this time of year. God bless the one who invented window screens. The sound does signal the end of heat and humidity and that’s a good thing.
It’s almost three more weeks until the season changes officially, but you’re right on time for the September First Friday Freebie! Let’s take a look.
Once at a ladies’ function, we played a “getting to know you” game where we had to jot down on a piece of paper “two things you love and one thing you hate” and toss the paper into the bowl. When the bowl makes a second pass around the room, someone else draws your paper and tries to guess who may have dropped this list into the bowl. I remember that when I played this, one of the things I jotted down that I loved was jewelry. I do love a bit of bling. I could so keep this freebie, but it’s all yours.
This pretty necklace by Accessory Connection is a long one. It has an adjustable chain section that extends from 32” to 35”. The “Y” section at the bottom adds an additional 2.5”. This makes it great to throw on over all your great fall sweaters and tops. Double chains of both black and gold (not visible in the photo) meet up with the beaded section which has iridescent beads in black, pale amber and a color I can’t decide whether it is a smoky blue or a smoky purple. A small stone in the “Y” section hovers above a teardrop pendant that I’d describe as a golden caramel color.
I took several photos trying to get the colors to appear as they do in reality, but the bottom pendant seemed to look washed out in every single one. Anyhow, it’s prettier than the photo.
Factory Connection is a great store to find cute jewelry and other accessories along with some fashion clothing. I don’t get there often, but when I do I often find great prices on items like this freebie. Check out their website herefor locations near you.
To enter to win the beaded necklace, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying “Bring me some bling!”. You’ll need to do that before midnight TONIGHT, September 3rd, 2021.
NOTE: An occasional problem occurs with subscribers not receiving confirmation emails. Should this happen, email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com so that I can report it and have the issue resolved.
First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so you’ll want to subscribe over on the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page where you can subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so.
I hope you get excited about winning freebies and share them and my blog stories with your friends and family through all your social media. If you like an idea, recipe or story you see here, be sure to hover over the photo and “pin it”. Help me get the word out!
On the “Freebies”page, you can see what readers have been winning every month.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight, September 3rd by leaving a comment which says, “Bring me some bling!”
For the complete First Friday Freebie rules, click here.
Why not subscribe and confirm right now before you forget?
While you’re waiting to find out if you’re the winner, you’ll love a good Smuffy story – the most popular thing on my blog. Our Smokin’ Hot Honeymoon is a great place to start.
May your windows be open, may your hair un-frizz and may you sniff the first hints of fall!
I know what you’re going to say once you start reading this – “Aren’t those people ever gonna finish that kitchen?”
That, my dear friends, is exactly what I ask myself, sometimes multiple times per day.
We’ve got to cut Smuffy some slack, though. After coming home from his day job, he tackles everything else that pops up (or falls down, as the case may be) with this seventy+ year old house. There’s all the yard work, the garden and how a huge outdoor project he’s had to undertake. My “new” kitchen goes forward in spurts and I try to have patience. I will admit to having tears, though. Every once in a while, the whole thing about having a toddler here every day with no cabinet doors gets to be a bit much. Careful placement and a good boy are all that stand between us and disaster.
Well, the doors have arrived! I’d do the happy dance, but they’re not up yet. You see, they’ve been handed over to me. Yikes!
I’ve done a lot of DIY in my time, so I had a hard time figuring out why these made me so nervous. Then, I realized where my jitters were coming from.
It’s one thing to drag something home from a yard sale or resale shop and dive in to give it a whole new life. It is quite another to take brand new things that Smuffy has poured blood, sweat and tears into and risk screwing it up! As I said in an earlier post, most people who say they did their whole kitchen makeover by themselves have few bragging rights compared to what we’ve undertaken on this project. Ripping out things, bringing home new cabinets and installing them and then slapping on some trim pales in comparison to what we’ve done. It’s been me with my sheets of graph paper and research and Smuffy painstakingly hand-crafting each and every cabinet, pull-out, replacing windows, framing in new ones, building the pantry and making all the shelves to my specifications. It’s been a long, long road and each interruption and setback has been tough.
Now, Smuffy has handed me his beautiful cabinet doors and it’s turned me into a big chicken. My design all along (I tell him that at all times he must remember that he’s Chip and I’m JoJo), was to have antiqued creamy cabinets. I went to great lengths to get just the right paints, additives, glazes and colors to achieve the end look. I did all right through two coats of primer. I did all right through two coats of paint. Then, somehow, as soon as I got ready to antique them, nerves kicked in. How could I ugly up Smuffy’s beautiful doors?
It was all I could do to go down to the basement and smear the glaze over the perfection and start wiping it around with old rags over that pristine first door. It was as though I kept forgetting that the installed cabinets upstairs had already been antiqued and it was too late to turn back now. Duh!
There are reasons I chose antiquing. So many kitchens are what I call “hospital white”. I hope it’s a trend that ends soon. Sometimes I think way too many folks out there are working in labs or schoolrooms or medical offices and this look is seeping into their souls. Anyhow, I didn’t want that. I wanted homey. I have a working kitchen – a really working kitchen. With homecooked healthy meals every single day and all the prep for cooking demonstrations at the classes I teach, it would be hard to keep a sleek kitchen looking sleek all the time. Also, I have some things of my mom’s I’d like to use to decorate my open shelving and they’re just pretty shabby and farmy. In honor of her, I’m calling this my Emmabelle Kitchen.
As you can see in the photo, I went ahead with Door #2 and then I started to calm down. In game shows, there is something behind the door to jump up and down about. In my case, I’ll just have to wait a while longer. Smuffy keeps assuring me we are in the home stretch. I nod and sniffle. The home stretch is every bit as exhausting as the rest of this turtle race.
Just in case you’re wondering, Smuffy’s masterpieces are finished off with two coats of Benjamin Moore primer, have had a light sanding and received two coats of Benamin Moore trim paint in “Fresh Narcissus” with Floetrol added. This additive makes all the brush strokes or roller marks “melt” away. The antiquing is done by taking eight parts Benjamin Moore Studio Finish Acrylic Glaze and adding one part Benjamin Moore satin finish paint in “Devonwood Taupe. This is wiped on and then off immediately with cotton rags, leaving accents in the wood details. Two coats of Benjamin Moore polyurethane are added after glazing to restore the hard finish. Otherwise, the glaze would remain too “soft” for durable cabinetry.
I must add that in this photo, the antiqued door looks like it has much more antiquing on it that it does in actuality. There’s no explaining why photos do that sometimes.
Smuffy does more than just build things. My Life With Smuffypage is loaded with stories that will make you laugh, cause your hair to stand on end and probably bump us up to the top of your prayer list!
Leave a comment! What do you like/don’t like in your kitchen? Or, have you seen something online or in someone else’s kitchen that you’d like to have if you could remodel your kitchen? My kitchen is small. Give me your best storage tips and tricks!
My apologies for running late with this announcement. Not only did I fall behind a bit, but our winner has been under the weather (though I doubt the weather had anything to do with it) and getting it to her and getting a photo has had its challenges.
She was kind enough to snap a picture of her First Friday Freebie in its new home and send it to me, so let’s congratulate and extend get well wishes to –
Liz from Boonville, Missouri!
Liz often enters to win and has been a previous winner, so if you want to meet her, just check out all the past winners and their gifts hereon my Freebies! page.
The “Then Sings My Soul” box-style décor is a Hobby Lobbyfind and you can see the original freebie offer, here.
If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.
Look for the subscription area. It’s easy to find on the “CONTACT” page and after subscribing, confirm your subscription when the confirmation email arrives in your inbox. If you’ve done that and not received a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com – it seems that from time to time, a subscription will get “stuck”.
Subscribing is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.
Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.
Freebies help me reach more people with my stories, recipes and more. When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free. Are you catching on this is a free thing?
Coming soon: September’s First Friday Freebie – that takes place on Friday, September 3rd. You’ll see a photo of the Freebie and you can enter to win at any point all day that day. Don’t forget to check the email that you used to subscribe for notification that you’ve won.
A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing.
ONCE AGAIN (because you tend to forget): Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe. That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.
Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.
These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, September 3rd, 2021.
A lot of people say, “I never win anything!” I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and tell me the best thing you’ve ever won.
