Month: April 2018

Charleston, Family, photograph, Recipes, travel

Friday Morning Beach Walk – Day 9 Part 1

traci

Once again, I took a walk on the beach on Friday morning of our trip.  Luckily I did it before the rain storm.

We had a rain storm on the last full day of us staying on the beach so that was a bummer.

Enjoy my video of my walk on the beach.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Recipes, Salad

Ways to Up Your Salad Game – Add Some Healthy Fat

traci

How can you take a salad from ho-hum to WOW? We are going to tackle this idea during this series. Here are the topics I’m going to discuss during this series:

  1. Change Up Your Greens

  2. Add Some Healthy Fat

  3. Protein, Protein, Protein

  4. Toppings Matter

  5. How About Roasting Some Veggies?

  6. Add Some Fruit

  7. Cheese Lovers Unite

  8. Seasonal Veggies and Eat the Rainbow

  9. Salad Dressings Matter

  10. Grains and Pasta

A word of caution: When you add multi toppings to the salad, you need to be careful you are not adding too many calories. Salads can be healthy but too many toppings can cause them to become “junk” foodish.

Add Some Healthy Fats

People are often scared of eating fat but there are some healthy fats that are good for you.  Why?

  1. They will keep you full between meals.
  2. They give you a layer of protection which keeps your core temperature regulated.
  3. They help you digest certain vitamins.

So which types of fats should you add to your salad?

  1.  Avocados
  2. Cheese – My favorite cheeses are feta and goat cheese.
  3. Eggs – Hard boiled or even a fried egg
  4. Fish – Such as salmon and tuna
  5. Nuts – Just make sure they are just nuts without all of the extra ingredients. Be sure not to add too many nuts because those calories will add up.
  6. Chia seeds – I love chia seeds.
  7. Extra virgin olive oil – Make your own vinaigrette using EVOO.
  8. Olives – One of my favorite ways to get healthy fats.
  9. Tofu
  10. Edamane
  11. Sunflower Seeds
  12. Tahini / Hummus – Another one of those ingredients that you can go overboard with so don’t use too much of it.

Happy eating,
Traci

menu plan monday, Menu planning, Recipes

Mom, What’s For Dinner? – Week of April 23, 2018

traci

Some of my meals are hold overs from the previous week because of LIFE.

Anyway I’ve sat down and figured out meals for this week.

One of the big things this week is the state superintendent is coming to our school on Wednesday.  My bulletin board is a HOT mess because I never really put anything on the board.  Then students come through and tear the paper.  I am going to stay after work on Monday to take care of the board and clean up my room.  Luckily I bought a frozen lasagna so Hubby is going to bake that or he is going to make the frozen orange chicken with frozen rice.

I love salads for lunch.  So easy.  I can put the ingredients in the fridge and quickly put together my lunch.  This week though I may do Mason Jar salads which are even easier.  Luckily I’m not a big Romaine lettuce fan.  I’ll eat it but it’s not my favorite.

Here are my breakfasts:

  1. Chocolate Chip Ricotta Muffins
  2. Cottage Cheese with Peaches
  3. Deviled Eggs

My lunches:

Dinners are broken into vegetarian meals and non vegetarian meals.  You’ll notice there is one meal that is the same.  It’s a non vegetarian meal that I’m going to serve to everyone.

Vegetarian:

  1. Lasagna Stuffed Peppers
  2. Baked Spaghetti  Squash and Cheese
  3. Pasta and Broccoli
  4. Enchilada Quinoa
  5. Meatless Orange Chicken

Non Vegetarian:

  1. Sausage and Mac and Cheese
  2. Enchilada Quinoa
  3. Honey Sesame Chicken
  4. Burgers and Fries
  5. Frozen Lasagna or Orange Chicken

 

I’m also getting some Naan bread so if I get a craving for pizza I can make my own.

Happy eating,
Traci

 

Charleston, Family, photograph, Recipes, travel

Date Night – Day 8 Part 4

traci

Hubby and I wanted to go look for the sunset once again.  At first we were going to go back to Mt. Pleasant but changed our minds.  We ended up in downtown Folly Beach once again.

We stopped at Hubby’s favorite sandwich/ pizza place there – Wich Doctor.  He ended up getting himself some sort of pizza.

Then we were going to take photos from the bridge leading into Folly Beach.  There really wasn’t a sunset so we checked out the park before heading back to the beach house.

Join me next week for my Friday morning beach walk.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Charleston, Family, photograph, Recipes, travel

Beach Shenanigans – Day 8 Part 3

traci

Before Hubby and I left for our sunset hunting date, we celebrated the Wee Ones and the Imaginative One’s birthdays by giving them gifts.  They both got new shirts from grandma and play poop from their cousins.

Afterwards, we went outside to find more sharks’ teeth.  My niece and nephew found lots of sharks’ teeth that afternoon so they wanted to show the boys how they found them.

I also wanted to get some photos of the boys jumping into the surf.  That did not go well.  They played more than allowing me to get a good photo.  Then the Wee One decided he needed to do cartwheels in the surf.

Enjoy my video from our shenanigans on the beach.

Join me next week for Hubby’s and my sunset hunting date.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Recipes, Salad

Ways to Up Your Salad Game

traci

Today I’m starting a brand-new blog series. Since it is spring, many people are starting to want to eat lightened up foods such as salads and sandwiches. I’m not a big sandwich eater unlike my Hubby. I enjoy salads if they are done right. Many restaurants call iceberg lettuce and a few veggies a salad. It’s not very satiating and leaves you feeling hungry afterwards.

How can you take a salad from ho-hum to WOW? We are going to tackle this idea during this series. Here are the topics I’m going to discuss during this series:

  1. Change Up Your Greens

  2. Add Some Healthy Fat

  3. Protein, Protein, Protein

  4. Toppings Matter

  5. How About Roasting Some Veggies?

  6. Add Some Fruit

  7. Cheese Lovers Unite

  8. Seasonal Veggies and Eat the Rainbow

  9. Salad Dressings Matter

  10. Grains and Pasta

A word of caution: When you add multi toppings to the salad, you need to be careful you are not adding too many calories. Salads can be healthy but too many toppings can cause them to become “junk” foodish.

Let’s dive into the first topic of changing up your greens.

Changing Up Your Greens:

Usually people think of salads as being just iceberg lettuce. That’s fine but there is no nutritionally value to iceberg lettuce. It’s what I grew up on and is a favorite of my mother-in-law’s. I love variety in my salad. Even Romaine lettuce can bore me.

So how can we change up your greens?

  1. Add kale. Get some prepackaged chopped kale so you don’t have to massage it.
  2. Even spinach adds some nutrition to your salad. Pretend you are Popeye or even a caterpillar like my children did when they were younger.
    1. Spinach adds iron and protein to your diet.
    2. For more information about the nutrition spinach brings to your diet, please follow this link.
    3. It’s a powerhouse veggie so indulge in your spinach.
  3. Get some “fancy” greens. Aldi has a variety pack of different greens for $1.99. I get those greens and cut them up for the week. (My mother has decided she likes those “fancy” greens.)
  4. Use cabbage as a possible base. You can get some already shredded cabbage or cole slaw mix to make your life a little bit easier.
  5. Here is a link to other types of salad greens that you could possibly use as a base for your salad.

Have fun with adding different greens to your salads.

Join me next Friday when I’ll discuss adding some healthy fats to your salad.

Until then, happy eating,
Traci

photograph, walt disney world, Writing Workshop

Throwback Thursday – The first time they visited WDW

traci

In April 2009, Hubby and I visited WDW with the boys who were 3 and 5 years old. The Wee One enjoyed meeting all the characters. The smile on his face was truly magical during our visit.

Here a few photos of the boys during their first visit to WDW.

At the All-Star Sports
The Imaginative One went through a phrase where he hated riding boats.  He gave this same look when he rode on the boat to Fort Sumter a few months later.

A few months after this photo was taken was the monorail accident where one of the “drivers” was killed.  I’m so glad to have this photo.

I hope you enjoyed my walk down memory lane.  They have since visited WDW 2 more times.  Needless to say, we are a Disney family.

Have a magical day,
Traci