I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle CoachI do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
I am OVER THE MOON about Denise’s results and couldn’t wait to share them with you! This is another story from one of the members of my weekly group coaching sessions. Denise is an example of what happens when you make changes in your life and see the victory. We talk about those victories our members see on the scale and that’s great because losing excess body fat is so important. But those non-scale victories can be the ones you really want to shout about.
Denise is not someone special who got abnormal results that are not achievable for someone like you. She learned how to fuel her body and it changed her life. Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made and you can learn to treat it as it was designed to be treated.
Feel free to contact me about private coaching or if you are local, join us in person. We meet weekly. It’s a joy for me to think that I had a part in Denise’s journey to success and that I may be able to help you, too!
I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle CoachI do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
I’ve been so exited lately to see the members of my weekly group coaching sessions experience not only victories on the scale with weight loss, but NSV’s as well (non-scale victories), which can mean much more than mere numbers. How you fuel your body affects all aspects of your life. How would you feel if your pain levels were greatly reduced without the help of drugs, but rather by your own wise choices. Check out Shirley’s non-scale victories and you might be wanting to contact me about private coaching or if you are local, join us in person. We meet weekly.
I’ll be sharing more stories like Shirley’s soon. If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out in the comments or by emailing me. Share this post on your social media as well. You never know – you might be giving someone the help they’ve been waiting for.
I probably should have passed this one on to you at the beginning of summer so you could enjoy it in the summer months, but since we enjoy it year-round I decided to go ahead and share it now that it has a name.
I’m quite a lot like Anne of Green Gables when it comes to names. I like a little romance or beauty in a name rather than something ordinary. I, like Anne, would never have called it Barry’s Pond when I could’ve re-named it The Lake of Shining Waters and what is a better name for a blooming orchard than The White Way of Delight? It’s like she’s in my head.
I gave up soda a long time ago – decades in fact. After a while, I actually grew to detest the stuff and the way it made me feel. However, I do somehow miss the bubbles and had to content myself with the occasional bottle of sparkling water because I’m way too frugal to drink it all the time.
Then I did some bartering one day with a friend who was doing a rummage sale with me. I traded her some tea tree oil I’d over-bought for a Soda-Stream. We had lots of fun with successes and fails as we tried various additives and blends to flavor the sparkling water we could now just fizz up in our own machine. (There is a cartridge that you trade in when it’s empty so after your initial purchase you pay only half price when you make the swap.)
We found it to be economical. We started our first cartridge around July 4th and didn’t run out of bubbles till the middle of September!
Flavorings seemed to be the sticking point. Smuffy is super picky on taste. I am super picky on healthy add-ins. Some of the ones you buy turn your carbonated water right back into soda!
After a while, I just threw something together one day as a “lime thing” and ended up loving it. Then I started serving it to guests and they liked it, which is good because when they come to my house I don’t stock “junk” drinks.
I knew this was ready to pass on to you when Lil’ Snookie gave it a name. All on his own, when he was still two years old, he began to say that anything with carbonation in it had “sillies” and would ask Pookie, his mama, if he could have sillies in his drink.
Now he’s grown to love my invention and almost every day asks me if he can have “Lime Sillies”.
And there you have it! It needed the perfect name and now it’s ready to share. No free printable necessary for this recipe because this is all you do –
Lime Sillies
1. Pour 1” to 1 ½” inches of Real-Lime or fresh lime juice into the bottom of your glass. (Everyone has a different preference as to how much lime they prefer.)
2. Add a tiny pinch of mineral salt (not the table salt gunk).
3. Add 1 doonk of THM Pure Stevia or any on-plan natural sweetener.
4. Add a couple of drops of pure vanilla extract.
Swirl the glass well or stir the mixture with a spoon before filling the glass with cold, carbonated water. Add ice if you wish.
NOTE: You cannot add the ingredients to the water. You have to add the water to the other ingredients. For some mysterious reason, dropping the sweetener into the carbonation makes the contents of the glass explode all over the counter. Ask me how I know.
Also, with a SodaStream, you must carbonate only plain water. Adding any ingredients to the water prior to pumping in the carbonation will result in more exploding things. Ask me how I know.
There you have it – Lil’ Snookie’s Lime Sillies! Fix a glass and head for the porch on these beautiful autumn days.
I fully disclose that I am a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach and at times receive financial compensation as such.
If you need support in your journey to better health and weight loss, head to the Contact page or my Food Freedom pages on Facebook and Mewe 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 MamaPlan is a great way to boost your immune system, reduce inflammation, and certainly to lose weight safely and sustainably if you need to do that.
Leave a comment after you sip your Lime Sillies and let me know how you like it. Do you have a carbonation machine of any kind? What are your favorite flavors to add that keep it healthy and make it tasty?
Now, didn’t that “Help”? Let’s push on with better grammar…
I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle CoachI do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
I first shared these thoughts a few years ago, but I’ve decided it’s time to revisit this bit of common sense and encouragement.
I first thought to name this page of my blog “Stayin’ Alive!” Love those Bee Gees! Besides, if one doesn’t accomplish at least this much in regards to one’s health, all other attempts are pretty much useless, if you get my drift.
I soon ditched that idea. There’s more to life than stayin’ alive! What’s the point of being here if your quality of life stinks? I decided on “Thrive!”
I got serious about my health during pregnancy. Up until that point, I’d stuck strictly to the See Food Diet. If I saw it, I ate it. Tall and slim, it never seemed to affect me. My dad once told me, as he watched me eat, that someday I’d stop growing up and start growing out and then be sorry about my appetite! I ate three square meals a day – big ones! No one had better leave a box of doughnuts anywhere near me.
But now, I knew that whatever I fed myself, I also fed the baby. Yikes! I spent a lot of time at the library. The baby came (all eight pounds and three ounces of her) along with an epiphany. I needed to keep her healthy till adulthood. And, (DUH!) why feed my child one way and myself another? The adult population seemed to be made up of a bunch of sick people, anyway.
I recently read of an umbilical cord study which showed that a couple of hundred toxins were detected in the cords and the samples were not taken from moms who were addicted to drugs or alcohol or had experienced anything most people would consider hazardous. They were only moms who used foods, shampoos and body products that most in our society walk into stores and buy without batting an eyelash.
Take a look at this photo. Note your first impression.
That’s the image that came to me. We can’t run on bad fuel! Yet, we live in a country where no one seems to grasp the concept. Or, if they do, they don’t care!
Can you imagine? Your friend Gwendolyn tells you that she hates the smell of gasoline, dislikes waiting in line at the service station and once even dribbled gasoline into her brand new shoes. She’s switching. From now on, she’ll run her car on lemonade. She likes lemonade. Tastes better, smells better and isn’t quite so icky between the toes.
You stifle a snort of laughter and get down to business. Somebody’s gotta talk Gwennie out of this madness. Doesn’t she know she’ll ruin a valuable machine with a crazy notion like that?
Gwendolyn won’t listen. Her plan is good for her, she insists. She leaves. You call several friends. After howling with laughter over Gwendolyn’s stupidity, some compassionate soul in the group says, “Listen! Don’t you think we ought to call her mother or somebody? I mean, somebody’s gotta stop her!”
I gave myself a “talkin’ to”. It went something like this: “You are kind to yourself. You are smart enough to learn. You are important to your family and you need to be the best you can be.”
Poor Smuffy went kicking and screaming all the way, suffering through strange herbs drying on the kitchen counter, whole wheat everything and tinctures galore. He told me once that the thing that kept him healthy was positive confession. Each time he’d cough or sniffle, I’d come running with some form of what he termed “stump water” and he’d call out, “I’m okay. I’m OKAY!”
Despite my efforts, I got that call from the doctor nobody wants – a cancer diagnosis. I’d studied various aspects of health, but hadn’t paid much attention to what may open the doors to cancer. I had no family history and besides, I ate good stuff! With my terrific appetite, I ate the good stuff and had room left over for some of the bad stuff.
People told me I was too young for cancer. I asked myself, “How old is old enough?” The answer, I concluded, was NEVER! After surgery, I endured chemo and radiation as “insurance”, more or less, according to the doctors. I’m sure there will be a future blog post on that nasty little interlude.
People like me are called “survivors”. I rejected that term from the beginning. It left me with an image of someone emerging from a jungle – burned, bitten, half-naked and hunted – running for a lifeboat that may or may not spring a leak. By the grace of God, I’m a WINNER! I am kind to myself. I am smart enough to learn. I am important to God and my family! I’m going to thrive!
I’ve learned much over the years, and it has turned my health around. In blog posts here on my Food Freedom page, you’ll be receiving a lot of great health information to chew on so that you can make your own decisions and take charge of your health. I am not your doctor and don’t pretend to be, but only hope to share helpful information. You’re smart enough to do your own research. You may see a few posts with some foods that contain ingredients that I’ve eliminated from my diet as I’ve grown wiser and learned what the real “frankenfoods” are. I’ll be editing those to help you out as much as I can.
So…about your reaction to the photo. Did you want to scream, “Stop, you idiot!”? Yet, we, almost never stop friends when it comes to food. Cars can be replaced. You only get one body. Why treat the finest, most intricately-designed, valuable piece of machinery ever invented – the human body – as though it were disposable?
Since the purpose of Midwest Storyteller is to take you to a better place, I want to share what I did as a first step. I gave up soda. Why pollute my body with a non-food item? A sugary soda has as many calories as a full meal. (Sorry, but I’d rather have food.) Artificially sweetened, it’s dangerous stuff, and I want to thrive! It’s been decades since I’ve had a soda. I don’t miss it. I do enjoy, however, Stayin’ Alive!
Americans have a big problem. Take a look at this aisle in my local grocery store.
That’s an entire aisle! All soda! They don’t devote this much space to bread, meat, cheese, etc. Yes, America has a problem, but you don’t have to. We can’t fuel up on junk because we feel like it or because, like Mount Everest, it’s there. We are as capable of making the right choices with our bodies as we are with our cars.
Okay, enough tough love. I believe in you. You are kind to yourself. You are smart enough to listen to the “real you”. You are important to God and your family.
You are also strong! Here’s the challenge: Choose one thing – just one – and take that step. Stick with it for thirty days. Whether it is to give up soda, lay off the sugar, exercise for 20-30 minutes three times a week or get more sleep, you can do it! (That last one is a personal struggle of mine if you came here for true confessions.)
Since I first shared this idea with you, I’ve been introduced to the common sense, sustainable world of Trim Healthy Mama. After a couple of years reveling in not having to exclude any food groups (except for “frankenfood”), enjoying hearty fat-based meals, satisfying my muscles and hormones with carb-based meals and learning how to make yummy desserts while kicking sugar to the curb, I became a Certified Lifestyle Coach. Ooh, did I mention that I lost that last annoying ten pounds I thought I’d never lose without constantly listening to my tummy growl? The Trim Healthy lifestyle is something you can definitely do all on your own and I’d recommend that you start with the book, The Trim Healthy Mama Plan and begin your journey. It’s written so anyone can understand the science of “why” and without that, we all lose motivation.
If you do decide you’re better off not going it alone, contact me. I’m happy to coach you privately in person or by phone and if you’re within driving distance at our local weekly group sessions.
Comment, letting me know you’ve chosen one way to live a better life. Or, share something you’ve already done that might encourage others. In thirty days, comment again, letting me know that you’re not only Stayin’ Alive, but determined to Thrive!
SUBSCRIBE, because it won’t be long before I throw myself a little online party, celebrating the twenty-four years that stretch between me and that cancer diagnosis.
I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle Coach I do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
There are studies out there for everything. I believe it was Mark Twain who said there are three kinds of lies – lies, d*#n lies and statistics. Sorry about that – he said it – not me and that’s as close to coarse as I’m gonna get.
I hear people all the time say that they don’t go by anecdotal evidence. They claim, in a superior sort of way, that they only abide by clinical studies. To that, I say, “Poppycock, balderdash, fiddle-faddle!” And I might be so bold as to add, “Piffle!”
Suppose you went to a specialist and described your health concern. After extensive tests, he diagnoses you with spotsarashitchitosis. He hands you a prescription for toximoxadislow and gives a full explanation of this drug as the latest, greatest and safest and cites multiple studies in which the victims of your condition are transformed from depressed and mere shells of their former selves into lively specimens who dance in the streets while strewing roses from their hats.
Elated, you head home, planning to make the pharmacy the last on your list of errands. At the gas station, you meet your friend, Flow, and tell her about your doctor’s visit. With alarm in her eyes, Flow tells you that she took the same drug and had a reaction that nearly killed her. You listen, but pass this off as a rare case. And besides, Flow gets worked up about things.
Next, you run into Cousin Rudy at the grocery store and again you share your experience. “Dunno,” says Rudy, rubbing his chin, “Larry took that stuff and tells me things haven’t been the same between him and the missus ever since.” You give him a “Wow!” accompanied by raised eyebrows and head for the bank.
Inside the bank, you find Mary Ann and do some catching up while you wait in line. As soon as you mention the drug, she clutches your forearm and says, “Oh my, before you take that stuff, call Peggy. Of course, you’ll have to wait till she gets out of the hospital first.”
Guess what? By the time you’ve driven home, you’ve just thrown all clinical studies out the window along with the prescription because of the anecdotal experiences of people you know whom you don’t consider to be nut jobs.
All that to say, I love a good study! I do research all the time and sometimes base health decisions on that research. I’ve had some health issues that demanded that I take charge and learn a lot.
I also listen to the Trim Healthy Podcast, which is full of valuable rock-solid science and personal stories. Sometime last fall, Pearl Barrett shared her own story about her eyes on “The Poddy”. She said that she’d been needing reading glasses for a while and now had reached the point where she felt like she needed to increase their strength. After some research on goji berries and their benefits to eye health she decided to include two tablespoons of them into her diet every day, most often in her morning oatmeal. In two months time, she had begun to notice that there were times when she didn’t need her readers. Before this, the only times she could go without them were if she happened to be out on her porch which is flooded with natural light. Now she found herself going without readers in other situations as well!
Goji berries seemed like a simple thing to try. I looked at my calendar and realized that I had just a little over two months till my next checkup with the optometrist, so I bought a bag of dried goji berries and got started with my two tablespoons a day just to see what might happen.
Well, what happened was life and my appointment ended up getting postponed so that I’d been consuming goji berries daily for around three and one half months before I got checked. I actually started with a small bag from Natural Grocers first, just to be sure that they weren’t so disgusting that I couldn’t get them down every day. I found them to have a completely neutral flavor so I ordered the big two pound bag you see in the photo from Amazon in order to get a better price. Considering I was only experimenting with two tablespoons a day, this is affordable.
When my eye appointment rolled around, I got the news that my eyes were just that partial step better than they’d been on previous visits! I thought I’d been noticing that recipes seemed a little easier to read and now I realized I wasn’t just wishing and hoping. Needless to say, I bought another bag and am still doing my two tablespoons a day.
Thanks much, Pearl Barrett and theTrim Healthy Podcast for always having good info and great ideas that are natural and safe!
Note: Goji berries do not dry soft like raisins. They dry hard. When I plan for oatmeal in the mornings, I soak my half cup of old-fashioned oats overnight in the bowl and in the morning I place my hand over this and pour most of the water off. Then, the oats go into a small saucepan with all the other flavorings and protein I like, including the goji berries. By the time the oats are hot and bubbly and I’ve gotten all the other things stirred in, the goji berries are softened and ready to eat. However, if I am planning on something that does not get heated, like 0% fat Greek yogurt with raspberries and sprouted grain toast for breakfast, I will put the goji berries in the bowl on the counter the night before with just enough water on them to soften them overnight.
That’s my goji berry story (so far) and I hope it helps you or perhaps you can pass it along to someone who needs to hear it.
Here’s another thing to shout about – It’s spring, folks! Yes, it’s warm one day and rainy and chilly the next, but I’ll take it any way I can get it. How about you?
If you need support in your journey to better health and weight loss, head to the Contact page or my Food Freedom page on Facebook and Mewe 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, reduce inflammation, and certainly to lose weight if you need to do that.
Leave a comment and let me know if you plan to experiment with how goji berries might help or tell me about other ways you’ve taken steps to change your health for the better through clean eating. Thessalonians 5:11 reminds us to encourage one another and build one another up.
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!
[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.
I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle Coach I do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
Here we are, Dear Readers, over halfway through January 2021. So far, I’d venture to guess that most of you who sighed with relief at midnight on December 31, 2020 are just a shade disappointed.
Having mentored people with their health for years and being an avid observer of human nature, I think all we have to do is turn on the news lately and within thirty seconds we’ve decided we’ve had our fill of human nature.
In January, you’ve probably observed a common occurrence in either your own life or someone else’s. We muddle along through the holidays, stressed and for most of us, over-blessed, promising ourselves that, come January 1st, things will be different. “Enough of this nonsense”, you say, vowing to lose weight, get organized, take better care of yourself, serve your community more, keep in closer contact with the ones you love – the list goes on and on, doesn’t it?
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – I can’t fathom why they ever designated January 1st as the beginning of the new year! It makes no sense, at least for the Northern Hemisphere. Just when the Good Lord offered us hibernation time and a nice, long rest, the calendar screams at us to jump up, get going and conquer the world and all our shortcomings. Oh, please!
Would anyone like to join my movement to have the new year moved to the first day of spring so that we could all get a little more excited about it? I know, I know, it’s a brilliant idea! That’s probably why people in high places never thought of it.
Anyhow, here we are and we seem to be stuck with it for now. This brings me back to my original question: “How’s that workin’ for ‘ya?
One thing I stress in lifestyle coaching throughTrim Healthy Mamais the concept of “tip-toeing in”. I would far rather see someone read a couple of chapters in the Trim Healthy Mama Plan book then choose three simple recipes to fit the plan that they can make in the coming week than I would to see them do a complete pantry makeover, call a family meeting on how things will change and then wear themselves out making sure every bite that goes into their mouth is perfect!
Speaking of perfect bites, let me pause to point out that “sticking to plan” with THM does not equal suffering, as evidenced by this beauty I made last week!
“Loaded Philly Cheese Meatloaf”, page 216 Trim Healthy Table, declared by Smuffy to be the best meatloaf I’ve ever fed him.
Here’s a little nugget to chew on. Repentance is better than goals. Goals involve setting a bar and then trying to measure up to it. Repentance simply involves realizing the road you are traveling is headed in the wrong direction, then turning around and going the opposite way – to a better place. (See how I did that – I’m so clever – note the heading of this blog.)
I want you to feel blessed today and not condemned. If you’re halfway through January and all those new leaves you vowed to turn over are still stuck together, just take a deep breath, take another step on the right path and find joy on the way to a better place. Then, perhaps when someone asks, “How’s that workin’ for ‘ya?”, you won’t have to hang your head and sigh.
If you’re wanting to make your journey with Trim Healthy Mama joyful, choose three recipes that fit the plan and make those this week. Ask yourself some questions about the rest of your meals and snacks and make sensible tweaks. Let 2021 take you to a better place step by step.
I like to make out a menu plan on weekends, but I only plan out four items. I enjoy my “pleasant ruts”, so I already know what breakfasts will probably consist of. I share complete weekly menus in my coaching sessions, but I’ve been on the plan long enough that lots of meals are “freestyle” now.
I thought you might like to see what a recent plan included. We have our main meal at lunch because that’s what Smuffy prefers and supper is freestyle. You’ll have your own plan for your own household.
I take it for granted that each of these main dishes will be served up with quick-fix non-starchy veggies, salads and other sides and that snacks are ready to grab.
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 and private coaching, which can be done in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
For info on getting started and a few questions you can ask yourself about getting started, click here. For coaching pricing, click here.
It’s a great way to come out of social distancing a better person.
Have the events of the last several months caused you to re-think how you are fueling your body so that you can build your immune system? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.
[NOTE: It is my understanding that there is a weight loss plan out there using the phrase “food freedom” in promotion. Unaware of this, I chose the name “Food Freedom with Coach Barb”. The two are in no way connected. Just providing clarity for my readers.]
I’ve been looking
forward to making this announcement and sharing my journey with you. If you’ve been with me from the beginning,
you know that health is a top priority in my life. I have shared part of my health story here on
the blog, and though some of it is scary, I really haven’t told the whole story.
Years ago (I’m thrilled to say) a cancer diagnosis played a part. If you’d like to catch up on that part of my life, you can read about it here and here.
There are things more difficult to endure than a cancer diagnosis and its subsequent surgery and treatments. Stage 3 (I’m talkin’ in the pits, folks) Adrenal Fatigue is one of them and I can honestly say that a couple of times during that awful phase I found myself fearful of not making it through the night.
When I talk to
people who seem to care little about taking care of themselves, I sometimes
find myself thinking (not sarcastically), “Well, maybe you just haven’t been
sick enough yet.” I have.
Now back to chemotherapy. I knew then, but have really come to understand since, what a hormone disrupter that is – as if we women needed another one – right? As I sat in the chemo room trying not to watch the drip, I’d hear the other women talking about how much weight they’d gained during chemo. Frightening tales of up to forty-five pounds had me shaking in my blue vinyl recliner!
I didn’t gain
forty-five pounds, but I did gain fifteen – the fifteen that would not budge –
the fifteen that kept trying to turn into twenty.
I’m tall, but
small boned, and excess weight on my body hurts. It pulls me down. Because of my height, no one really regarded
me as “fat” because I gained it all from the waist down. This whole new world of walking past a loaf
of bread and gaining five pounds was foreign and frightening territory. I’d spent my whole life eating whatever I
wanted and not gaining an ounce.
I joined that group that measures everything and counts “points”. I stuck to it for years. It worked – twice, in fact. Still, at the root of the matter was the fact that I love food. I may have left the farm, but I took my farm-girl appetite with me, if you know what I mean. I want seconds – possibly thirds. I eat. The portion control police were after me all day long and in the long run, my blood work showed that the plan did me no favors.
When adrenal fatigue showed up and my holistic doctor advised me to give up sugar and grains, my family (the supportive little darlings) told me I couldn’t do it. After all, they did know me as the Bread & Pasta Queen. I did do it. I lost a few pounds, too! Then it began to creep back on again. Was there no end?
Then, a couple of years ago, a friend of mine started losing weight. What struck me most was the fact that she seemed deliriously happy doing it. Normally, the first thing a dieter loses is their sense of humor. She’d bring food to gatherings that tasted SO YUMMY and she’d lost over thirty pounds! When I asked about the recipe, she’d name off a string of ingredients that fit my doctor’s recommendations to the letter. So, why was she dropping pounds while I couldn’t wait to get home and get the too-tight jeans off?
That’s when she told me about Trim Healthy Mama. Later, I borrowed her THM book and tip-toed in. It all made such logical sense and avoided extremes. It didn’t take away food groups. It simply showed me how to stop duel-fueling my body with fats and carbohydrates at the same time and how to feed my body what all those hormones needed so I could not only walk past the bread, but stop and sniff it and even have a slice!
After a year of baby-stepping and learning how the plan was ideal not only for weight loss, but for those who wanted great cancer prevention like I did, but is ideal for people with diabetes, insulin resistance, cardiac and any number of other issues, I bought the books, including cookbooks and jumped in.
The first recipe I tried in my “Trim Healthy Table” cookbook was Creamy Garlic Spinach Spaghetti Squash Bake. Oh, my goodness! If I could eat like this and trim down, I was in! Smuffy gave it the thumbs up, too.
Today, I have the troublesome weight off. (Actually, I think I may go ahead and drop another three to four pounds.) I feel great and this may be my biggest announcement of all today – I’m eating! I eat seconds. I eat thirds. I try to avoid out-and-out calorie abuse, but I don’t measure my portions. I eat butter! Repeat after me – B U T T E R! I pour olive oil on my salad and top it with cheese and nuts. I eat carbs. I was made for fats and carbs and am so thankful THM has shown me how to eat them in a trimming way. It’s so sensible and safe that pregnant and nursing moms can feel free to jump right in! And guys, just call yourself a Trim Healthy Papa (or Dude) because this plan works for you, too.
Knowing that I could be of help to so many others, I decided to become a certified coach through Trim Healthy Mama. I’ll be sharing lots of recipes and information here on the blog and should you need more, I offer group and private coaching, cooking demonstrations and more.
For pricing and discounts, including your first session of coaching absolutely free, plus available discounts, click here.
If your church
group, homeschool group or organization is located in my area, I would be happy
to speak to people who are ready to find food freedom, get their health back
and if they need to lose the weight – get trim!
Trim Healthy Mama originated when two moms (originally from Down Under and now in the hills of Tennessee) found themselves DONE with diets. These sisters wrote a book for their friends that became a best-seller because the simple science and healthy guidelines worked for so many people. They now have the #1 health podcast out there, plus books, curriculum and their own line of healthy food and other things that will make your body better!
Meet Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison in this short video where you’ll learn a little more about THM.
That’s my big announcement! Coming up, I’ll be sharing healthy recipes
and providing notations concerning recipes that have already appeared on the
blog and whether or not they fit the Trim Healthy Mama plan. I’ll be making recommendations from THM
recipes and providing lots of information on my new Food Freedom Facebook page
where I’ll share THM knowledge, recipes, tips and all sorts of other
goodies. Please “like” and “follow” at https://www.facebook.com/Food-Freedom-THM-Certified-Lifestyle-Coaching-100703354727086/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Most of all, Happy Eating!
How’s your New Year’s Resolution coming along? Was it, once again, to either lose weight or eat healthier? Why do you think you fail? I’d love to hear your comments!
