THE STORY OF MY ONGOING WEIGHTLOSS JOURNEY

About 8 years ago, I lost 40 pounds - I guess it was "baby" weight but I was well passed that stage! I worked really hard, walked daily, used Weight Watchers to help me keep track of every little thing I ate, and felt amazing. 

About 4 or 5 years ago, I began gaining back that weight. I hadn't changed my eating habits much and I was still working out. I was puzzled as to why I began gaining back my weight and started realizing my addiction to sugar and breads and thought that I needed to figure out a way to get that under control. Meanwhile, in the last 5 or 6 years, I have discovered all things natural, clean, organic, and wholesome! Our family now does as much clean living as possible. 

Quick Tip: Make Lettuce Last Longer

This is a quick tip I wanted to share with you to keep your lettuce fresh and lasting longer - it's a trick I've learned all on my own. You ready? Here is a photo of my lettuce that was in the back of my fridge for TEN DAYS. I just took it out and cut it up and put it into my salad - honestly, it was forgotten in the veggie drawer! 

So, how to I keep my lettuce SO FRESH for so long - up to two weeks?

OK, here it is - it's super simple. 

1. Wash the lettuce and get it nice and dry.
2. Get a clean, dry terry towel  - I got mine at Costco or here.
3. Wrap dried lettuce tightly in terry towel then put into a gallon-sized ziptop bag. 

That's it! The terry towel keeps the lettuce from getting soggy and still keeps it fresh. So, if you like to make a little salad everyday or don't get to it right away, it keeps it fresh! 

Do you have a great way of keeping vegetables last longer? Please share!

 

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Step 2 - Meal Planning: The Mom's Guide to Getting Your House Organized and Clutter Free

This week, we're going to explore the next step to getting your house organized and clutter - and becoming more of a home and your life much calmer. Meal Planning.

Meal Planning is truly vital for us Moms, it's the second step to helping you get your home organized and clutter free! Like step one, getting into the habit of doing this on a regular basis will help you the most. You need to decide how often you want to meal plan and how often you need to grocery shop. I have a weekly plan, since we have two teenagers and need food often! Let me help you with this simple weekly step:

Step 1 - Calendar: The Moms' Guide to Getting Your House Organized and Clutter Free

Last week I told you that I am going to get you ready for the new year and coach you to get organized and clutter free. I've got everything a mom could want to know to get your house and life organized. This week we're going to start working on just life in general. You have to decide what kind of calendar person/family you are going to be. For me, I'm all digital {paperless} but I have a large family calendar, too. For you, it might be that you've tried several different ways and you've been unsuccessful, but until you make it a habit EVERY SINGLE NIGHT to sit down and work through what your day will need to basically look like the following day, or weekly sit down and plan out meals and family business, you aren't going to be able to even attempt to keep your house clutter free or organized. 

3 Ingredient Baked Egg Casserole

Weekday mornings can be crazy and I'm always trying to make thing easy for breakfast, but I don't want store made or processed food for our family. So, I've found something easy that my teenaged son, who has to leave at 6:30 each morning for school, can make himself and I know he gets a good breakfast.

This is an Easy Bake Egg Casserole and you only need THREE ingredients!

Making the Most of "Leftovers"

Do you like leftovers?  If not then you probably haven't made the most of them!  I used to think that the best way to handle leftovers is to pack them up and send them to work with my hubby, but now I've actually started cooking extra on purpose so that I can use the leftovers for another meal all together.  

How to Meal Plan with My Favorite Paleo Dinners

If you like meal planning and are looking for healthy dinners, my favorite Paleo dinners will be great for you whether you like to eat Paleo or not. What is Paleo, you ask? Well, it's a way of eating and I basically tell people that there are basic rules about eating like the ancestors did WAY back when, but that's not why I eat like that. You see, I was ADDICTED to sugar and breads and wanted to get unaddicted. I have been dairy-free for 20+ years because I'm lactose intolerant, so I looked for a way of eating that was unprocessed, no-calorie counting, and going to get me off sugar and breads. So, Paleo was the answer for me. Paleo basically is:

1. No grains
2. No dairy
3. No legumes
4. No sugar

It's sounds terribly restrictive but it's not that bad and you just have to change your way of setting up your pantry and learn to substitute certain ingredients and you can make most any meal "Paleo". I haven't had sugar or bread in nearly TEN months and that's saying a lot. 

15 Easy Meal Planning Meals

Do you like to meal plan? Have you ever meal planned or have you thought about doing it and never really have done it? I grew up with a mom who just did it every week and I always thought that was what everyone did. But, I have learned that it isn't something everyone knows how to do or actually takes the time to do. And, honestly, it's pretty easy when you get into the habit of doing it. Today I'm not going to teach you how to meal plan because I've shared how to do that many times before - just check out here and here. Today I want to share some easy meals that I have personally made and use to make meal planning easier. 

How I Meal Plan with Pinterest

Yes, I {heart} Pinterest. I always have. I suppose I always will. I use Pinterest for so much. I'm one of those "copy-catters" with a twist. I get tons of inspiration from Pinterest for decorating, organizing, parenting, food, and everything else! So, it should come to you as no surprise that I use Pinterest for my meal planning. Yep! I've been using it for awhile now and I've had some pretty good outcomes as a result. I'm going to share with you how to make it work well for you and find really good recipes that are going to be a hit with your family AND plan your meals - something we organized people like to do! 

Planning Dinner + Giveaway

Each week I sit down, usually on Sunday evening, and start to plan my meals for the week. There are other weeks that I don't do so well. I know this is a struggle for many women - taking the time to plan meals that are enjoyable but simple. It's not always my favorite thing to do, either...but, 

Needed: Help Getting Dinner Ready!

Michelle of 5 Dinners in One Hour has a FANTASTIC giveaway today!

Get Organized to Eating Healthier!

I'd like you to meet Kelly! She is a friend of mine who blogs at The Nourishing Home. She has an amazing knack for organized meal planning and eating healthier!

Kelly loves the Lord, her family, and sharing her passion for real food cooking and meal planning with others. She is a full-time homemaker who loves spending time with her awesome hubby and two sweet boys. Kelly's real food journey began six years ago when she was diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disorder. Since then, the Lord has blessed her with an amazing recovery - a testament to His grace and the health benefits of eating real food. Kelly shares her knowledge and love for whole food cooking at The Nourishing Home, Facebook and Google.

How YOU organize your meal planning

I received an email from Anna, from Ask Anna.  She did a post on organizing your meal planning, which I briefly did many moons ago....but, hers is much more detailed and a great help to all of you who just don't plan your meals. Here's what she said to me:

"I think that meal planning is hugely important to being an organized mom because at the end of the day everyone needs dinner and if you don't know what you have on hand it can be an extremely stressful and frustrating."

Go here now!

Recluctant no more!

I told you about my recent read through The Reluctant Entertainer, by Sandy Coughlin.  Now, I want to share some simple and easy ways to have friends over.  

Top 10 Reasons why you should NOT plan a weekly meal!!

Click here

{via}

Here is an article about the Top 10 reasons you should NOT plan weekly meals!  Hmmmm.....what do you think?

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Organizing Meals for a friend in need

One super important thing we needed to do for one another is to take care of each other!  I love how great our church is at bringing meals and helping others when needed.  One great website I have recently discovered is Take Them a Meal where it makes organizing a meal for someone VERY easy.  In the past, I would organize meals for a friend by sending out emails and dates and going back and forth between everyone trying to pick dates.  Then, I'd send out another email to remind them, etc.  Well, the website Take them a Meal is so easy because it takes them directly to where you set up the days and then your friends can sign up directly for a specific day, they can even put what they will bring, then the website sends them an automatic email reminder to bring their meal.  You can even put what not to bring or any other details about the meal in there!  A super great website that I highly recommend!