Busy? Who you calling busy?? :)

I have had a couple comments like "you're a stay at home mom, you must have tons of time for your blog" and "it must be nice to get to relax all day."

So, we interrupt your regularly scheduled program of food and nutrition as I take you on a tour of a day in my life. ;)

Today I got to sleep in. (Meaning when I woke up my kids were still quiet so I stayed in bed) so I got started at 8. 

8am. Got up. Made bed.  Started the sprinkler in the back yard. 

8:10. Did dishes. Cleaned kitchen, and swept. Start load of laundry. Made two gallons of sweet tea for the day.  

(Disclaimer:  I went out with a friend last night so no one cleaned up dinner. See before picture.)

After with my cup of coffee. 

By this time the sprinkler was still running in its 30 minute timer. ;)

8:40 am.  Start breakfast. Little ones wanted cereal, So that was easy. Mine took more time. ;)

Yummy!!!!!   Left over oven roasted potatoes, spinach, onions, mushroom, sweet pepper, eggs, sausage, and a dab of some Colby jack cheese. ;).  Now for me to eat.  Started drinking my gallon of water with breakfast. ;) 

While eating breakfast I checked email and Facebook. Both my personal and my chef ones.  I followed up with a couple people about being references on my resume and orchestrated the girls getting up and putting all their bedding away. (They camped in the living room last night. Yay for summer.)

So. Much. Food.  Could not finish. ;)

9:30 am. Clean up breakfast and resweep the kitchen floor so I can mop. 

By that time the washing machine is done, so I hang the laundry on the line. 

Started another load of laundry.

Mopped the kitchen floor. 

10:30 am.  While the kitchen floor dries I clean the living room and the bathroom. 

11:30 am. 2 loads of Laundry folded and stacked.

Washing machine is done, so I move the load off the line and fold it. Put the other load on the line. 

Almost Half my gallon is gone. ;)

12:30. Started lunch. Quinoa Crab Salad. (Blog to follow). Made a few phone calls. 

Started food prep for the week as well. 

1:00. Continuing quinoa salad and food prep while kids eat PB&J sandwiches (they didn't want to wait for quinoa.). 

Start of my food prep. Meat slacking in the sink and veggies started. ;)

2:00. Done with veggie prep and roasting my garlic. Finished the quinoa crab salad!

Taking a break for food. ;)

Even while I did that I updated my blog, checked email and Facebook again, etc.

And as I watch the laundry blowing in the sunshine I realize I need to move laundry again.  I wish my breaks were more..... Break-y.   

2:45. Break over. 

Mix veggies and put in oven. 

Take laundry off the line and fold. Put other load on line. Start towels in the washing machine. (Clothes done, now towels and blankets)

3:00. Guy came by to buy my playpen I had on Craigslist.  (Yay for Ranger money!). Pulled out the veggies. 

 

3:30. Relined my pans and spread out my meat.  

Seasoned them and tossed them in the oven to cook. ;). 

Heat wok to cook romaine.  Learn that romaine cannot be frozen and then cooked. :(.  (Blog to follow)

4:00pm.  Meat is almost done. ;).  My whole house smells good.  And I do dishes. 

4:15. Done with dishes. Meat is done. :)

Looks so good!!  ;)

Oh, and I finished my gallon of water.  :D

Dishwasher going, washing machine going, meat cooling, I finally sit down and turn on my TV and watch some Dr Who. ;).  

4:30. Ok, I lied. Still haven't sat down. Packaged up the meat and put it in the fridge. Turned oven off. 

Isn't that a pretty sight??   

Ok, so the buzzer for the washing machine has gone off, so I guess I am moving one more load before I sit down with my Doctor.  

It's five o'clock some.....here.  

5:00. A glass of wine joins the Doctor and I while we watch the kids play with the ferrets. ;)

5:45. Ferrets away, except for Remy, He cuddles with me.  Kids playing in the game room and I move the last load of laundry out to the line. (Blankets)

After spending the day cooking I'm not sure what's for dinner. 

6:20. Bath started for the girls. Break time over and time to figure out what is for dinner. 

 

7:00. Girls got out of bath and one still had a crap ton of shampoo in her hair, so she got on the counter and a rinse in the kitchen sink. 

Hubby gets home and it time to get dinner on the table. 

7:30. Sit down to dinner with my hubby. Hopefully the kids leave me alone long enough so that I can eat my food. ;)

From here, it's clean up dinner, take blankets off the line and put line away, put kids to bed at 8:45-9 ish and go lay down in bed while hubby falls asleep.  

Whew.   That's a busy day.   

Granted I don't meal prep every day, but there is a day in my life.  I call that a down day since I didn't have to leave the house. When I have to leave he house and run errands it feels so much crazier. 

Well, Good night everyone! Thank you for joining us, and  I hope you enjoyed today's show.   We will return to your regularly schedule program tomorrow.  

Spaghetti again??

If you are like me and have kids, then no matter how much you cook good wholesome food for your kids they always want the "holy 3" foods. The magical foods that they are guaranteed to eat no matter what. Hotdogs, chicken nuggets, and spaghetti.  Well, if you are like me, then you just get tired of those.  So I have been getting creative to make me something wholesome and better out of simple things or left overs, etc. because no one wants to cook two different meals. 

Tonight I made the girls spaghetti. I took the sauce and put it over garlic roasted sweet potatoes and a bed of raw spinach.  With some cheese on top and a couple oven roasted tomato wedges from the night before.   

I had a glass of some mediocre white wine and it felt very mature and healthy meal instead of the normal bowl of spaghetti.  ;).

Absent again.....

I apologize to any and all who read this for yet another prolonged absence. I have been struggling with some things and it has taken me away emotionally and physically from this site. 

Wow, that sounds very formal......

I have been a little bogged down.  Not one, or two, but Three people in my life have all decided that they want to start nutrition/food/healthy eating blogs.  Talk about an over load.  They are all blogging with the gusto that all us bloggers feel in the beginning and they are posting and talking their blogs up right and left.  Sadly, this put me in a position where I just did not feel like doing it as well. I love to study nutrition as a chef and hope to further a career in cooking for and educating those with restricted diets and athletes. But now it feels more like some fad then it did in the past and you could say that there is now a "saturated market". (a term used when there is just too much of the same thing out there)  


I have tried to console myself with the facts that I love what I do and I was doing it before these people, but the fact also remains that my sisters blog on crafts, food, and general "neat-ness" is soaring in views faster and farther then my blog has.  I know that I am facing a very select audience, and that I want to focus on those that need or want my help and my talents. (but it is a little disconcerting) 

So, all in all, I have not felt like logging in a writing a blog to further saturate my facebook page and life with more "I know the secrets to making you healthier" crap. I am not one of those that jumps on bandwagons or is a trend follower, in fact, it sort of makes me want it less if there is such a big deal made out of it. :(

Well, I am going to try and return to my blog just because I love what I do. I have been taking pictures of my food and have started training to do power lifting competitions, so much has been happening.
Take heart that I have not been sitting around pouting, eating cookies and doing nothing.  (well, the eating cookies normally always applies...)
I am going to start it up again and hope that the vigor will return as well.  Wish me luck!

Happy Blogging to all, and to All a good night. :)

Tomato Roses

I meant to post this BEFORE Mother's Day so you all could do this for her meal and make some extra smiles. :)  But now you can use it next time, or for birthdays, etc.  This is a "how to" blog on making tomato roses.



 

First, make sure you have a good tomato, and two sharp knives. I usually have a longer and a shorter one for different uses. 
You can use one knife the whole time, but if one isnt working the way you want it to, then you want a backup there since you will be covered in tomato juice. ;)








Step 1:  Cutting your tomato

 Start with cutting the end of the tomato. Now, the first rule you need to remember is to go slow and control your knife, if your tomato skin breaks, then it is ruined!! 

So cut the end it one piece, but then work your way around the tomato

You need to move slow and steady and keep your skin pieces as even as possible. The larger (wider) the cut, the less it will go around, but the easier it is to cut, the smaller (thinner) the cut, the more layers the rose will have but the harder it will be to cut.  It is all about practice. :)

This tomato was softer then I wanted it to be, but it was my last tomato, and I didn't want to go to the store first. :)  Being softer, you can see the skin rippling and it was MUCH harder to get a good cut out of it and so I made it a larger cut.








 


 When you are done, you should have one long piece of tomato skin.


 










Step 2:  Build Rose




curl the end up with the inside of the tomato skin facing each other.  
You start with the end that you finished cutting.

 

 hold it tight and keep rolling it up.

When you get to the large top piece, you will fold it over and set the curled up skin on top of the piece. It becomes your base. The weight of the skin helps hold it together. 

It should look about like this.  You can put basil leaves between the base and the curled skin to look like leaves as well.    Different colored tomatoes work and can make a pretty "bouquet" of flowers. :)  

So, Give this a try, and let me know how it goes.

Happy Creating!  :)

Happy National Public Gardening Day!!

It is National Public Gardening Day, and to celebrate I am having a deal on my events.  Check out the flyer, and let me know what you think!  

What are you doing today to celebrate??  

Baby Steps to Better Steps

I did a consultation the other day and we talked about how to get from point A: The habit of unhealthy living, to Point B: The habit of a healthy life.  His main concern was that there is so much out there, that it is hard to dig through all the fads and the crap to get to the things that really matter, and then trying to figure out which ones work for him and his lifestyle and his body.   This is a conversation that I have had a bunch with many clients and friends.  The age of technology and knowledge has made a situation of there being too much for the average person to dig through. 

I love my job and helping people find a way to get healthy, and so I want to make a simple list that might help all those struggling to find healthy steps.

1. Keep it SIMPLE!
You do not need a bunch of courses, or items on your plate. You do not need spaghetti, and salad, and rolls, and, and, and.....If you have a hearty vegetable sauce, then you do not need a salad, and you definitely do not need a roll if you are eating pasta. Redundancy is not necessary and is a big downfall to trying to cut calories and get healthier. 

2. Make the changes you will miss the least first!
This one is the first I tell anyone. Cut out all the things you will not miss much. For me, I cut out all soda and just drank water. It was tough, but I just do not miss it. I allow myself coffee and milk, and that is it.  If you could miss cheese the least, then start there. You do not need to go straight for breads and pastas, etc, if that will be too hard to stick to.  Then you do step 3.

3. Limit things you do not want to give up completely. 
I LOVE cheese. I can more easily give up meat then cheese. (trust me, I have tried.) ;)
But I can limit my cheese. If I only allow myself cheese once a day, I tend to enjoy it thoroughly.  I let myself have coffee once a day, and even allow the occasional cookie and treat. Limitations are so much easier to stick to then abstinence, and then there is not the guilt associated with messing up. Almost every food has a purpose that your body can use, and no matter what diet you are choosing to transition to, it is not set in stone. Your body will be different then anyone else, so what works for your body may not be exactly what other people are following.  Allow your body and your lifestyle to help you make the diet that is right for you.

4. Allow yourself to be Human!!
No one is going to change over night.  No one.  And if they say they have, they are crazy. ;)
It will take many slip ups to make a new habit and lifestyle. It is not easy. But when you are feeling healthier and better, it makes it easier to stick to. 

And there you have it;

4 simple tips to trying to make your changes stick!

Remember, it takes longer to make a habit then it does to break one.  :)

 

 

If you need any more help or tips, please email me, I would love to set up a consultation and help you with your goals.  :)

chef.jaelanne@gmail.com

 

A month off...

Admit it, you have all wanted to take a whole month off, right?  ;)

I spent some busy weeks seeing doctors, chiropractors, and massage therapists to try and get this headache to go away.  I still have that headache......

But while doing all of that, I am sorry to say, that I have had a hard time getting much else done.  Thanks to a loving husband that doesn't whine that the house isn't as clean as it normally is, and some very forgiving teachers for my daughters late paperwork for school, I have survived the last month.   

I got fed up with being poked and prodded, so I just stopped all that nonsense. I will eventually have to go to a neurologist and try and figure out this headache business and get it taken care of. Right now, I am mostly functional, and taking things a little slower then the past. My days of multitasking enough for 5 people is just at a stand still for now. I will be working on my blog as much as my head will let me be on the computer. 

I have some great things to add though, so I am excited to get back in it.

I had a great talk with a sports nutritionist about cooking and supplementing for athletes, and have some products that he has been working with to try out and review. (I love that part of my job)

So, hopefully soon you will have something to read about that!!  Can't wait to share. I have a could power lifters doing some sampling as well to get some better feedback on a product too. :)

Hope everyone has had a great last month, and this month has a BUNCH of great stuff to add. (I have been saving some stuff up too.)

Thanks for reading!! You make this so much more fun for me. :)

--Chef. Jaelanne