Oh how I love Roasted Veggies!

I learned to love roasted veggies while on the 5:1 TSFL plan.  Of course then, I didn't add potatoes and onions as they are higher carb veggies.  But most veggies taste delish this way.  Broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage... it's so good!

 Just chop up your veggies and toss with a little olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and garlic seasoning (or whatever spices you want - it even tastes good with just s/p)

 Line a cookie sheet with foil and a little non-stick cook spray.  

Roast in the oven at 425 for about an hour (possibly less if you don't have potatoes in the mix), and...

Voila!  Yummy roasted veggies.  I also usually sprinkle a little balsamic vinegar afterwards and it really makes it so tasty!!  My kids gobble this up too.

ENJOY!!

~Margene

BFF for an hour and 12 Days of Christmas Swap

I’ve joined a 12 days of Christmas Swap hosted here.

Check it out. You have until Friday night to join if you want to. I’m excited!

Today something fun happened. I went shopping, alone as usual, and found myself wandering into a nearby Fashion Bug store. I have shrunk out of my thrift store pants and I’m down to two pairs of pants that fit me (size 16). So I thought I’d just see if any pants were on sale. So I grabbed several size 14/16 pants to try on and an associate of the store offered to take my clothes into the changing room, and she added “you do not look like you wear size 14’s or 16’s”... I patted my belly and nodded a ‘yes I do’. So as I was trying on the pants, I found that the 16’s were quite roomy. The same associate came by and asked me how I was doing and she ended up running and grabbing me some size 14 and size 12 pants. She was so nice and helpful and interested in my weight loss, and oohed over my before and after pics that I keep in my purse. She got even more enthused and brought me all kinds of stuff to try on, camisoles & sweaters & pants, which was so awesome since I really have no fashion sense. She told me what tops would look good with leggings and what pants are best for my body shape. She was like my BFF for the hour I was in the store. I loved it! She made me feel so good and seemed to genuinely be excited for me in my journey. And guess what? I totally fit into size 12 now!!! Yes, they are tight, but they fit! I was smilin’ so big in that changing room - I even did a little Margene Happy Dance which I’m sure the angels watching got a giggle from! And I walked out with 2 new pairs of pants (yes, I paid for them first). She even ran to me as I left the store to share something else with me. To her I’m sure I was one of her many customers but to me, she made my day!

Also, another NSV happened yesterday was when I ran into my old HS Life Skills class I used to work with just a few months ago. As I was approaching one of the teachers I had worked closely with, she looked at me with confusion. She was like... “I know you somehow...” Then she recognized me and she went on to be astounded at my weight loss. She really made a big deal about how much thinner I look. I haven’t had anyone notice to the extent that she did... it was so cool because all the teachers I worked with there knew I was on a weight loss program, and then to run into her after having dropped over 115 pounds just amazed her. It’s fun to be successful... finally!

I have been making Roasted Veggies again. Dang, these are so good!

This batch I have chopped up cauliflower, broccoli, zuchini, yellow squash, red and green peppers, and mushrooms. Then I drizzled some olive oil, salt, and a dash of garlic powder and mixed it up well. They smelled and tasted so good before I even put them in the oven. I roasted them at 425 for 12 minutes, then turned and another 5-10 minutes. I shake just a bit of balsamic vinegar on them after they are out of the oven. Soo good!

Here’s a couple of my Lean and Green’s lately. Using a mixture of ground turkey breast and lean ground beef, I made these patties on the left with some Walden Farms sugar free BBQ sauce and a dash of grilling spices. They were tasty without needing any condiments. I had them with roasted veggies.

Upon finding that the only vegetable I had left were tomatoes, I made the meal on the right with left over turkey and 3 Roma tomatoes and a wedge of light laughing cow cheese (tomato and basil flavored). Very satisfying actually!

Here's to making healthy food choices even when temptation is all around us. I learned today in that changing room that feeling good about myself and my body feels SO MUCH BETTER than giving in to eating a ton of cookies or fast food or other foods that really aren't healthy for me. Life is GOOD.

Thanksgiving and Letting Go

It was sweet and simple. Just our family. Simple delicious food. Lots of rest and lounging. Then a jaunt to the movie "Megamind" at the theater later on. Nice. Lovely. Quiet.

I tried brining my turkey this time, and it was so tender, moist and delicious. My daughter helped me form some Rhodes dough into rolls and they rose overnight (they got so big!). For the kids I had the rolls, gravy from a can (since I don’t know how to make my own), and stuffing. We also had roasted Veggies.

We snapped a couple of pics. I love how I can sit on My Man's lap now... and not destroy him in the process!

I stayed on plan... But I did eat a little more than 6 ounces of turkey breast... it was so good! I also snitched a couple bites of the cooked carrots that were under the turkey in all that yummy juice. They were so good. Carrots are not on plan right now but I will add them in later. I enjoyed my snitching. No pie. I had my Medifast pumpkin pie pudding (vanilla pudding w/ pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon - Yum!). I also enjoyed some knox blox and crunchy Medifast pretzels in the theater. I did not feel like I missed out on a single thing - food wise at least. :) Wonderful day!

Roasted veggies are my NEW FAVORITE!!

They are so easy.

I cut up the veggies into 1” cubes or so. I used broccoli, Cauliflower, zucchini, and yellow squash. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in middle of the oven at 425 for 12 minutes or so. Take out and flip them over as needed. Bake another 5-8 minutes as needed for that sealed roasted glaze. Then toss with just a splash of balsamic vinegar. SO delish!!!

I was reading yesterday over at Sam’s Believe in yourself blog and her post “It’s time to let go” really spoke to me. I know that letting go is really my theme of this whole journey. I’ve talked about this before especially when I first started back in February. Sam talks about a dream she had and the questions that came to her: Are there things in my heart that need to be set free? Things that daily cause me pain? That cause others pain? Things that cause this to be a painful life?

I have to say YES. I know that the pain and heartache I feel are things I need to let go. I get hung up on my lack of understanding. Why things turn out so differently, what was the purpose of certain events, are hurtful things said to me in the past still true, what is so horrible about me, and my list of questions can go on and on. I’ve recognized my need to let go. To move on. To have faith in my future. Yet, there are those times that a snippet of that heartache pops back into my life and I stumble and fall and fight it all over again. I have this song I love by Michael McLean that’s called “Let it go”. I love to just listen and soak in the words. Here are some of them:

“Letting go, opens up the heart. There is a new day hungry to start. You can’t change what has hurt you so, but you will heal, if you can let it go. All that’s wrong in your life, let it go. All that is worth saving..... is love. Love will hold you tight. Love lifts the burden and love shines the light. Only love nourishes a soul. If it’s not love, simply let it go.”

So Sam talks about letting go and embracing joy. She challenges her readers to find ONE THING to let go for today and to encourage our blog readers to do the same and to think of how much better this world would be if we all removed one of the painful things from our heart and replaced it with a feeling and action of gratitude. Grab this button too, and post about it if ya want! :)

So my one thing to let go of today is my DOUBTS. My doubts in things being positive, doubts in my relationships with others, doubts in truly trusting the Lord. I want to let them GO and replace them with FAITH. Faith in trusting the Lord. Faith that my family and friends are true to me (this is huge), and Faith in things turning out for the best. I know this seems huge, but it boils down to little thoughts.. and I want to LET GO of my little doubtful thoughts that lead me to so much pain. Whoooosh....... gone! Letting them go!

What do you want to let go of today?