Cookie!

I finally made cookies from "Cooking For The Whole Family", a cookbook that I forgot that I had.  It's a cookbook that has healthy recipes that the whole family will enjoy!  I decided to try oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and the kids loved them!  So did daddy!  I am really excited to try more recipes from this book.

Last night, I was looking at the different recipes and I can't wait to ry a bunch of them.  I am getting so bored with cooking the same old thing.  I can't wait to try new recipes and have new flavors.  I love to cook and I want to cook healthy recipes and I think I found a few that I will like and luckily, Tom will pretty much eat anything that I make.  I just hope that the kids will like more foods.  They only eat certain things!  I can't wait for them to eat more things!

Thanks for the suggestion for "The Joy of Cooking".  I can't wait to go pick it up!

Amy

Cookbooks/Recipes

So, I have a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for a book that I returned without a receipt.  I am trying to find a book that I want to use the gift certificate on that will be well used and worth me having in my collection of books.  I am thinking that a cookbook is a great thing to get since I am trying to get healthy and cook more of my own foods.  The problem is, I can't seem to find a cookbook that is worth my buying.  I am willing to spend money above what the gift certificate is worth but, I want to be able to enjoy cooking good food and also enjoy eating it.  I am also continuously looking for new websites for good recipes!

I am trying to continue on my path of getting healthy overall!  I have been continuing to walk with some running.  I am trying to make sure that we cook more at home and eat healthier alternatives to the bad stuff without depriving us of good tasting even sometimes healthier forms of those unhealthy foods.  I wish I new how to out certain things together.  I would love to find books on how to put certain spices, ingredients together.  I would love to learn how to take not so healthy traditional recipes and make them healthy!  I would love more vegetarian style recipes that are actually tasty.  I have a few vegetarian cookbooks, but they just don't seem to be all that healthy.  I am also interested in making more foods that are lower in the amount of meat used, but still have meat in them, just not a primary ingredient.  I am also looking to buy less processed foods and even start buying more of the ingredients in recipes and make things myself.  I have a few friends that are really good at doing their grocery shopping at Whole Foods and buying more whole ingredients vs packaged foods!  I am hoping to be like that some day!

Amy

Back on Track Progress

So we have walked 2 out of 3 days this week.  Michael was sick today and the weather totally didn't cooperate either so no exercise.  Hopefully we'll be back out tomorrow.  Eating is getting better, but not perfect.  I start with the best of intentions, but a lot of times they fall apart.  i am getting better though.  I have stuff in the house that I probably should through out, but I don't want to waste the food, even thought it isn't necessarily good food.  My goal is that I will not buy anything that is not going to be good for me to out in my body!  I want to continue to do better with making food at home including bread, good for you ice cream, yogurt and so much more.  I have a friend in my twins group who is definitely am inspiration to me.  She is much younger than me, but is so right on the money when it comes to living the lifestyle that I want to.  Hopefully, these small steps that I am taking will get me to the place I want to be and since they are small steps, hopefully I'll be able to maintain the lifestyle that I want to lead!

Amy

Get Back on Track!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I've been watching "Losing It with Jillian" and am getting somewhat motivated.  We actually didn't eat out at all today and I honestly can't remember yesterday!  My goal is to start eating at home pretty much always and if we do eat out, I will eat properly chosen meals not the crap that I have been choosing lately.  Tom and I started walking Breakheart Reservation, a park in our town that is full of hills.  It's about a 3 mile loop and we are pushing the strollers as well as walking.  Granted they are jogging stroller and roll quite nicely, but it's still pushing a stroller and a 21 pound baby for me and for Tom 2 babies 21ish pounds and 25ish pounds.

We got our first veggie out of our garden and I am looking forward to getting more.  Even though I did eat at home tonight, I didn't eat great.  I pretty much ate a pork chop with BBQ sauce no veggies even though I cooked amaranth greens and then almost 2 pieces of cheesecake.  I am so tempted to throw out the last 3 pieces of cheesecake so I won't be tempted to eat them.  I need to do more than just watch these tv shows.  I need to get off my butt and get it in gear and do something.  I need to stop saying that I am going to do something and actually do it!!!!!

We are planning on walking everyday in Breakheart!  It felt really good today.  I was struggling, but I felt good!  I really enjoy being in Breakheart and exercising with my family.  I want to get into a good healthy lifestyle while the kids are young so that they grow up with it being natural!

Amy

Life

Life has been a little crazy lately.  There's really not too much going on, but with summer and the heat and the garden and just plain old everything that needs to get done around the house, I feel like I have been on the go all the time.  This has really gotten in the way of doing things right.  I have not done anything creative lately at all.  I keep saying I'm going to, but I never get around to it.  I am in the process of trying to make a baby carrier like a Babyhawk.  I just can't seem to get the sewing machine out.  I have so many projects that I want to make especially on the sewing machine.  i need to force myself to be creative and make things with the supplies that I have!  I have also done a horrible job of eating healthy and cooking at home.  We have been eating out way too much lately.  I really need to get back on track and start cooking and eating healthy.

My husband has been getting out in the garden and doing a great job at taking care of things there.  I am getting a little disappointed though with how it is looking.  We have a few tomatoes, 1 great zucchini, a couple of peppers, maybe a spaghetti squash or 2.  I am hoping that in time, things will pick up.  We have had a horrible heat wave here with little to no rain.  The grass looks like it usually does in August, so I am hoping that we get rain more often and hopefully that will help things grow better.  Next year we will plan better and hopefully have better soil since we are also composting this year.  Only time will tell how our garden will be and hopefully we will have veggies to get us through some meals!  Oh, and I forgot we also have a cauliflower and have had a little broccoli.

I am getting totally frustrated with my cloth diapers.  I am using prefolds with covers and had been loving them for the last year except for the rashes that the kids are getting!  I feel like every time I get their rashes cleared up, they come back.  I can't for the life of me figure out what I m doing wrong.  I think I may need to strip them again since we have had an issue with water pressure related to our filter system.  The filters have all been changed and now we have normal water pressure.  Hopefully, if I strip them again and we continue to maintain water pressure, things will get back to normal.  If not, I plan to buy new prefolds and maybe even use disposables until the kids rash clears up!

I joined in a couch to 5K with another twin mom.  I walked only 1 time last week and didn't run at all.  My husband and I need to get back on track and get exercising again.  I have 1 more week til I start back to work part time.  I want to spend this week enjoying my last week without needing to worry about being back home for work.  I think we may go up to Franconia notch, kangamagus highway area and do some walking and sight seeing with the kids.  We will spend Wed night having a birthday cake for my husband's aunt.  The rest of the week I just want to enjoy, but also still make sure that we work on the couch to 5K program.

Hopefully, my life will settle and I can get back to the life that I want to lead.  I really want to start cooking again, but I have to admit (as much as I hate to) I do like to eat out.  I also like to eat junk food.  I need to start eating healthy and getting healthy and start having better habits for my kids to follow!

Amy

Giveaway

I found this new blog: The Cheap and Choosy after the author left me a comment on my blog.  I am really looking forward to getting to know this blogger and read many more entries.  The most recent entry is regarding a giveaway of the pink and chocolate apron from cookware.com.

I am absolutely in love with this apron.  I need to get cooking more.  I am doing better, but can always do better an d better.  I love aprons, but tend not to wear them for some stupid reason.  I love this one though and would love to wear it.  If I don't win it I may need to think a bout making one that is similar to it.  I love getting new comments on my blog especially when it leads to finding new blogs and new friends!

Check out thecheapandchoosy.blogspot.com and cookware.com

Amy