Friends

Hey Sweet girl,

   We just had the McGees, Noes, and Smiths over for dinner. Elsie and Lucas came to play. Elsie was here all day actually. You two are so cute playing together. You LOVE any children or babies that you see, whether it be in person, in a photo, or on video. You get so excited and you are so sweet to everyone. You are still the most smiley baby! You're getting really good at holding your upper body up with your arms, and you roll over with ease. You have gotten really good at eating food, although you don't eat much at a time. You've had sweet potatoes, oatmeal cereal, pears, winter squash, corn, rice cereal, bananas, and apricots.
    When you become a mom you feel like you need a break from your baby. Maybe to sleep, get out of the house or just have a minute to yourself. But as soon as I leave you with daddy to take some "me time", I miss you terribly. I call you my little best friend. Love you more thn you'll ever know!!

Love,

Mommy

Hi Friends, 


      Let me just say that it has been so great to be home this week spending time with my loves! I don't even want to go out at all this week. I'm savoring every moment we can spend simply at home being the three of us. 

       Paisley has been doing well with baby food (sweet potatoes and oatmeal cereal). She much prefers the sweet potatoes so I mix them together. It's been 72 hours, which is the time the doctor recommends you give your sweet one's body before you let them try another food. So sweet potatoes are a keeper! Good thing because we eat them ourselves all the time! 

     Let's talk weight loss. I'm another pound down, still sticking to no sugar and loving it. The emeals recipes this week have been great! On Sunday we had grilled chicken and steak kabobs. Delicious and super healthy!  

    On the same note, it's terribly hot today so for a snack I made a frozen fruit smoothie. I put bananas, strawberries, non fat plain greek yogurt, and a bit of stevia in the blender and voila- a wonderfully refreshing cool smoothie! I'll take a photo the next time I make one, and at 155 calories, that should be quite often! We bought frozen strawberries, blueberries, and mixed fruit from Sam's Club so it is cost effective and will last us a while. Yay for something healthy that tastes like dessert...finally! 


    Hope everyone has a great day!

Julie

Weight loss update.

   
 Update:

      No sugar since May 2, and I'm 10 pounds down with 20 to go! When I say no sugar, I don't mean no fruit. Just no processed sugars. The whole family is taking a vacation to Maine on July 27 so I'm hoping to lose 10 pounds in June and 10 in July. Totally do-able. I went on vacation and still didn't eat any sugar, but last night we had fondue night with friends so I made an exception. I know you probably won't believe me, but no back trouble since the sugar was out of my system, and today I feel that pain, just like before. I don't know how sugar can affect me that quickly since I just ate it last night,  but I know it's not a coincidence. So no more sugar for me. I don't even miss it and when I find some time, I'll try some stevia recipes. For now, fresh strawberries satisfy my sweet tooth. When you are seeing the scale drop in addition to no pain, it's totally worth it. On a side note, I haven't exercised one day since I started on May 2 so this week Zach and I are both going to start going to the gym. I think that'll make the weight come off even more quickly. I know that muscle weighs more than fat, but you know what I mean. When you feel different in your pants, the weight has come off regardless of the number on the scale. 

    As far as food goes, check out emeals.com. I'm doing the organic/all natural menu and it's been great. The women who run the site shop the sales for you and created weekly menus with grocery lists that accompany them. So easy and supper yummy.

Yay for feeling better. I'll keep you posted!

Summer Time Guacamole and Grilled Watermelon Salad

          Today was gorgeous- perfect for grilling and good food. I have never been a guacamole fan, but recently I ate at the Cactus Flower restaurant in Pensacola and tried some of their guac. Out of this world. I decided that I had to at least attempt making something similar. I'm proud to say it was a

success thanks to the Food Network's Alton Brown. Also, a while back we saw a recipe on the FN for grilled watermelon salad and decided to give it ago. Absolutely perfect for barbecues! You'll love it. 

Homemade Guacamole- Yes Please! 

Ingredients

• 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

Yum! You'll be glad you tried it! 

Grilled Watermelon Salad:

Ingredients

• 1/2 (5-pound) seedless watermelon
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (See note below)
• Extra-virgin olive oil (See note below)
• Kosher salt (specialty salt is great here, if on hand)
• 2 cups fresh baby arugula, washed and dried
• 1 cup goat cheese, crumbled, preferably a French Chevre
• Fresh finely cracked black pepper

 

Directions

Stand the watermelon half cut side down on a cutting board and slice away the rind, leaving a solid block of melon. Turn the block on its side and cut it into 8 squares, roughly 3 by 3 inches and 1-inch thick.

Pour the vinegar into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to a thick syrup consistency. Set aside.
Heat a nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle just enough olive oil over watermelon slices to thinly coat and place on hot grill pan. Grill each side about 2 minutes until grill marks appear; transfer to a plate and season with salt.
To assemble the salads, put about 1/4 cup of baby arugula on a serving plate, followed by a grilled slice of watermelon in the center, and top with a tablespoon of crumbled cheese and another 1/4 cup arugula. Add another watermelon slice and another tablespoon of cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Finish each salad with a very light drizzle of olive oil and balsamic syrup. Dust with black pepper and serve immediately.

Side Note: We didn't reduce down the oil and vinegar because we had balsamic dressing, and it was just as good. We also only did one layer: salad, watermelon, feta, and dressing.

ENJOY!