Author: julesfarm@yahoo.com

Have you ever had or even heard of a Pour Over Cup of coffee?? Well, I hadn’t heard of it, and I hadn’t had it. Yesterday morning I met a friend at a coffee shop. It was the coffee shop of all coffee shops too! Super cute, and lots of different ways to order your coffee! When we get together during the week, we usually meet at the park and walk, but it was 50 below zero, so we had coffee instead. She asked me if I had ever had a pour over, and when I said…”a what?”, she insisted on me ordering one and watching the barista make it. So I did. Truly…..the best cup of coffee that I have ever had! Smooth, strong but not bitter, and so delicious. I can’t wait for my next Pour Over cup of coffee! (this is not my photo, but this is […]

Yay! I actually got in a little exercise yesterday! I walked on the treadmill, at an incline even, for 30 minutes! I got my heart rate up and burned a few calories. Then I did 30 minutes of various stretches, Yoga moves, crunches and push ups. Note to self: Exercise makes you happy! When I went to Scottsdale in November and stayed at the Omni Hotel, I had a really yummy Quinoa Burger for lunch one afternoon and I’ve been thinking about trying to make it since then! I played a little in the kitchen last night and came up with a Sweet Potato, Quinoa Burger that I thought was really yummy, but it needs a little tweaking. I’ll work on it and post the recipe when I think its worthy.   But, not too shabby for a first time go at it!   For the month of January, I […]

Another simple day with no shenanigans. January is boring. Okay, I was ready for a little boring, so it’s good. I spent most of the day in the kitchen. If I wasn’t making something, I was reading about something to make. I’m enjoying the January Challenge of avoiding all sorts of foods, and I’ve had the extra time to meal plan and cook, so I think it’s going to be a great month in the kitchen! Having a challenge makes me be a little more creative with what I am eating and it also forces me to plan, which is a good thing! I think it’s easier to succeed when I have a plan. When I mentioned to my friend that is doing this challenge with me, (actually, her idea all along) that I thought I would miss cheese a lot, she said she used avocado in a lot of […]

Just a quiet Sunday spent taking down the remainder of the Christmas decorations and giving everything a good cleaning. Not one single shenanigan. I’m hoping for a little excitement around here today. I did get signed up for The Color Run in Dallas in March, so let the running begin!!   For the month of January, I am not eating the following items. Gluten Dairy Red Meat Soy  Corn Sugar Artificial Sweetness Alcohol Here are yesterdays eats….. Breakfast Egg White Omelet with Peppers and Onions Topped with Smashed Avocado and Salsa Grapefruit, One No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls 7 PPV   Lunch 1/2 Small Sweet Potato Turkey Taco Meat, Black Beans, Smashed Avocado 12 PPV   Snack Gluten Free Cinnamon Bread, Toasted, Honey, Kiwi 5 PPV   Dinner 1/2 Small Sweet Potato Turkey Taco Meat, Black Beans, Egg 12 PPV   Weight Watcher’s Points Plus I can eat 26 […]

My Saturday started off with breakfast out with a couple of girlfriends. My afternoon involved a cozy fire, a little un-decorating, but mostly some movie watching. My evening was filled with un-decorating and a ridiculous number of trips up and down the stairs. Pretty simple Saturday. Here are yesterday’s eats.   For the month of January, I am not eating the following items. Gluten Dairy Red Meat Soy  Corn Sugar Artificial Sweetness Alcohol Pre-Breakfast Smoothie 1 C. unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, Stevia Frozen Strawberries, Frozen Banana Chunks 1 PPV   Breakfast Egg White Veggie Omelet, topped with Avocado Fruit and Black Coffee 5 PPV   Lunch Butternut Squash Chili (with chicken added) Topped with Chopped Avocado 8 PPV   Snack Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Toast with Honey 5 PPV     Snack No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls I’ve made these in the past using 1/2 C. of Better N Peanut […]

  I felt so great last year at the end of January, that I am going No Gluten, No Dairy again for a full month.   This is a full list of what I am cutting out for the month of January. Gluten Dairy Sugar Artificial Sweeteners Red Meat Corn Soy Alcohol  Day 1 – Thursday Pancake Recipe  Topped with 1 T. Almond Butter and then… I thaw frozen blueberries in the microwave and it makes a great additional topping = 7 PPV Butternut Squash Chili Recipe  I added shredded chicken to this recipe and topped it with smashed avocado = 8 PPV The Chicken and Peppers and Onion, I sautéed and added homemade Fajita Seasoning = 8 PPV Gluten Free Cinnamon Toast with honey = 5 PPV Total = 28    Day 2 – Friday Egg Whites, toast, Fruit (1 un-pictured piece of toast) = 6 PPV Tuna Salad…..Tuna, […]

One of the great benefits to having a blog is being able to go back through your year, just as you would in a journal I suppose. You can see where you shined, see where you were a bit dull, see what fun things you did, reflect on your reflecting, and of course, see what you would like to do different the following year. I read, I Welcome You, 2014 last night, and it was a great reminder for me of how successful I was in my health in 2013 and what I did to get there, but it also reminded me that 2013 was one of those years that I was ready to put on the shelf for reasons that had nothing to do with my health. 2014 has been a difficult year for me with my weight going up, and accepting how I truly struggle with the food demons, but […]

Oh, Blog….I do miss you when I’m gone. it’s just that sometimes you are not at the top of the priority list, but the Holidays are now over (well, almost) and I can get back to my routine, and you and I can reunite. When I do a big fridge and pantry clean out, I like to do it on Monday because Tuesday is Trash Day! I suppose this has more meaning in the summer months when the garage can get really hot, and the trash can become really stinky with food in it, but none the less, cleaning out the fridge the day before trash day is a habit that I have formed that keeps the fridge from becoming an unorganized mess of foods that no longer need to be in there! I do try hard not to let too many foods go bad, but this “trash day” had […]

I hope you all are enjoying your Christmas and Holiday Season this year! I picked up my daughter, Tess, from the airport early Tuesday morning and we have been keeping busy since. For as long as I can remember, Tess and I have taken one night each Christmas Season and drove the car all over town looking at Christmas lights with a cup of Hot Cocoa. This year was no different, except for the way in which we did it. Typically we are in our cozy clothes and ready for bed. This year we had a two hour dinner while sharing a bottle of wine. (wine and dumplings)   After dinner, we took our tour. Tess said it was one of her most memorable evenings that her and I have ever spent together. 🙂 (We asked FOUR different groups of people on the Plaza to take our picture and they […]

I am loving being a Big Sis to Samone. I’ve never had a sister before, and neither has she! Samone and I were matched up in May, and we really are a good match. I like to be silly and have a good time, and she seems to enjoy watching me do just that. We do more than just act silly, we’ve had some really good talks, she has met a lot of my family, we’ve enjoyed some arts and crafts, and we are already planning what we will do on our one year anniversary together! Samones birthday is a few days after Christmas and she will be out of town for Christmas and her birthday, so we celebrated last night, just the two of us. She will be 13 and I thought it would be fun for her to get to do something kind of grown up, so we […]