KNOX BLOX Queen

That's me!  I love the stuff!  I really wish I could mass market these little delights!

Here is my set up in making my next couple batches.  Above I have my ingredients ready to make my Strawberry/Banana/Coconut  (I am a sucker for coconut) and peach/Mango/Pineapple (a favorite of my daughters).  I have my syups and flavorings, sugar free jello, knox unflavored gelatin.

The recipe is simple:

* 6 cups boiling water (if you use sf syrup just minus the amount from the water like 5 cups water + 1 cup sf syrup)
* 6 packets knox gelatin
* 2 big boxes (or 4 smaller boxes) sf jello

Mix together thoroughly - pour into brownie dish and refrigerate for several hours.  Cut up and put into little snack baggies if you want.  It's about 40 calories per little baggie.

A big hit with my son and his friend who could NOT stop eating my Lime/Banana/Coconut blox.  

I love having these low calories, tasty little treats around!

Also, I don't know what it is means, but I just love making kabobs!  I didn't ever have them growing up so it's like a special thing.  

 This was our dinner tonight for just  our family.  

I know, I know... I made enough for an ARMY!!  (lots of yummy left overs)

These are BBQ Teriyaki Pork Kabobs which I made early on in week 12 of my journey and posted about them as well.  I don't have a BBQ grill anymore so I just baked them in my oven.   I had these pork pieces marinating for 24 hours and skewered them today.  I was loving them.  My kids liked them.  I love the sauce for dipping as well.  Yum!

Here's another quick lean and green I did a couple nights ago.  

I just sauteed my zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes with some Mrs. Dash tomato basil seasoning and added my shrimp.  I love that added flavor of the tomatoes.  For Brent, I made his standard salad with a sprinkle of low fat cheese & Walden Farms Ranch dressing and his 3 Morning Star sausage patties.  He loves those patties!

In the next couple days I will be hosting my FIRST GIVEAWAY!  I'm excited.  Some lucky winner will win some exciting Scrapbooking software.  What a way to perserve all those memories and pictures.

Life is Good!!  XOXO ~Margene

Week 15 and still going!

We have reached week 15 on our Quest to Change our Lives! It's been bumpy at times but we're STILL GOING! This week I lost 2 pounds and my man stayed the same. I just realized that I am the weight I was when I became pregnant with my first child which was 18 years ago. I haven't been this "skinny" for 18 years! That is huge to me! But I'm still too big have a ways to go.

My man found a suit at the Goodwill in Lincoln City when we were out at the beach and it fit him perfectly. He hasn't worn a suit for over 20 years! He looks SO fabulous! The picture does not do him justice! My man is SO HOT!!

We have lost a few inches since we started!!

My man: Me:

Neck 2" lost 1" lost

Bust 5" lost 1" lost

Waist 7.5" lost 7.5" lost

Hips 7" lost 7" lost

Thigh 1.5" lost 4" lost

Knee 2" lost 2.5" lost

Arm 3" lost 2.5" lost

I made this shrimp and fried yellow squash dish this week and used some fat free tartar sauce as my condiment. I prefer tartar sauce over cocktail sauce but my coach has an easy recipe for cocktail sauce I haven't tried yet.

This was a yummy meal. I broiled salmon in my oven and basted it with that mango orange bbq sauce that I've shown in a previous post. Then with the fried yellow squash it was quite satisfying!

My coach gave me the newest Medifast recipe book a few days ago and I tried my first recipe from it: Spicy Garlic Lime Shrimp. I used a red pepper since I didn't have a green one, and I used the spaghetti tofu noodles instead of angel hair because that's all I could find. It was pretty good and my man ate it too. Next time I think I'll use fresh shrimp instead of pre-cooked frozen shrimp. The noodles tasted totally like regular noodles.

I'm excited for these changes in our lives and I also feel a lot of opposition at times. I know the adversary does not want us making positive changes - he wants to keep us down. And sometimes I succumb to old feelings and past heartaches that bring me so much pain. But I work so hard to put those things behind me. That is my biggest battle and I fight it every day! I realized from a lesson today in church that patience is directly tied to our faith. Being patient in my heartaches and trials is being grateful for what the Lord has given me and serving Him and my family while KNOWING that all these things will work towards our good.

My Mantra for this week: Seek to do His will and Trust in Him.

Week 10 - Started First Workout!

I lost 2 pounds last week and my guy lost 3. Week 10 brings me to a total of 42 pounds lighter, and my guy to a total of 48 pounds lighter. :) I STILL say that it's hardly noticeable with me. I saw some pics of myself this weekend and I look exactly the same (to me). That just goes to show how easily I gained the weight without looking drastically different. I am SO anxious to really BE thinner!!

Here is my FAVORITE medifast lunch!! Chicken Noodle Soup with crackers. I never tire of this, it's so yummy!

My honey LOVES my muffins with the Walden Farms jelly (sugar free/fat free/ calorie free).

This week I made stuffed peppers!!!

We really enjoyed them. I even made them again for my whole family!

I browned my 1 pound of ground lean turkey and 1 pound ground lean beef and drained it. Then I added one pack of ground up medifast crackers, 1 cup egg beaters, 2 T. Italian seasonings, and approx. 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. This meat mixture makes a bunch - as you can tell, I always double recipes so I can have it later too.

I filled the peppers and put a little water in the bottom of the pan just to cover it. Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes or until pepper is tender. I sprinkled a little cheese on top the last 2 min. of baking.

It was delicious. I didn't need any salsa or added flavoring for mine.

My man enjoyed his with his hot salsa.

We also ate out at Applebees again. This time I had the weight watchers steak and grilled shrimp. I asked for no oils or butters when baking... but I wonder if they did because it tasted SO good! I want to be able to make shrimp skewers as yummy as these!

This week we also WORKED OUT for the first time since we started this lifestyle change. Now, the last time I went on the treadmill like 6 months ago, I could only get up to 30 minutes. And the most I've gotten up to is like 40 minutes. So for not going in months, I was astounded with myself...

I walked for over 53 minutes and over 2 and a half miles!!! Some of it I even had on an incline! Wow!! I guess being 40 pounds less has helped me be able to walk longer and handle more on the treadmill. I wasn't even overly tired or TOO sore the next day (just a little sore). I am SO excited about that!

Here I am feeling happy about my walking.

I am having some much appreciated success. But it isn't without many struggles. I have struggled this weekend with a heartbreak from my past. I am amazed at how powerful this trial has been over me. It brings me SO much sorrow and I fight the feelings and thoughts with all my energy and many prayers. I realize that things may not be how they seem to me and I am trying to TRUST IN THE LORD that one day I will have understanding and peace about this trial and that it will all turn out for the best in the end. Waiting until then has been a struggle, yet I know my Savior is aware of my trials and the longings of my heart and I will Trust in Him. I am truly blessed, too, and thankful for the strength the Lord gives me and for my wonderful family!!

~ Feeling ALIVE after WEEK 5 ~

We have reached the end of our 5th week and here are the results:

Me - 4 pounds lighter; total loss now = 25 lbs

Hubby - 6 pounds lighter; total loss now = 28 lbs

This is so encouraging to us!!! When I pass the 30 pounds loss mark, it will physically manifest more weight than I've lost on all my other diet changes! So that will be another milestone for me. My hubby is feeling so much better. He said he would like to write his own feelings for me to post on here... so I will when he writes them down for me.

Because I am so big to begin with, I often still feel so huge and homely - BUT - at the same time I also talk to my husband and plan like I am already a thinner person - because that is where I am headed.

Here are a couple Lean and Greens from this last week:

First, I made SHRIMP for the first time on this plan!! This is the pre-cooked frozen shrimp from Costo. I just defrosted it and then steamed up some asparagus (my second time making this vegetable). I cooked the shrimp over the stove with some of my favorite sauce I use for salmon: Jakes's Orange Mango barbeque glaze. Then I also drizzled some over the asparagus as well. So delicious! I am anxious to try other ways in making shrimp too, because I loved being able to have 7 ounces of it!

Doesn't that look so good?

I also made this chicken salad. This is chicken is also from costco, "Sweet carmelized onion chicken burgers" that I posted below in a previous entry. I just warmed up the chicken burger on the stove and then cut it up into smaller chunks and put them on a bed of lettuce, cucumber and tomoto. I used this "Bolthouse" ranch dressing which has less fat/calories due to being made from yogurt. SO good! (my coach told me about the Bolthouse dressings).

This was the best salad I tasted yet

Here it is with about 2 T. of dressing added.

I still have other L&G ideas I want to try... I'm cautious because that is my favorite meal of the day and I want to make sure it's one I'm going to love!