Tag: health

Spaghetti Squash Marinara with Turkey Meatballs

This lower calorie version of the classic spaghetti and meatballs won’t leave you wanting more.

The Appalachian BarbieLeave a comment

This hearty and filling meal won’t leave you missing the standard pasta and pork at half the calories.

For the Spaghetti squash:

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the ends off a medium spaghetti squash, set it upright and carefully cut down the middle. Remove seeds and strings from middle, rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grease a foil covered cookie sheet with nonstick spray and place squash cut side down. Bake for 50mins or until fork tender. Remove from oven, set aside to cool. When cooled, use tines of a fork to scrape “spaghetti strands” into bowl.

For the marinara sauce:

Heat large deep saucepan over medium heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil. Dice 1 green bell pepper (after removing ribs and seeds) and 1 small onion. Add to pan. Next, mince 2 cloves of garlic and add to pan, stirring to combine veggies. Add 3/4 container of fresh sliced baby Bella mushrooms and season salt/pepper/garlic powder/Italian seasoning to taste. Stir all and cook until onion and peppers are softened. Next add one jar of marinara sauce. (I used my go-to jarred marinara, Kroger’s Simple Truth Organic brand.) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 15 mins or so, until mushrooms are tender and all flavors have married. Set aside to cool.

For the meatballs:

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, add 1 lb of 93/7 lean ground turkey and 1 large egg. In a small baggie, mix 1/4C breadcrumbs, 1/4C grated Parmesan cheese, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, 3/4tsp salt, 3/4tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Shake to combine then add to bowl with meat and egg. Using hands, thoroughly mix. Grease a foil covered cookie sheet, and begin rolling out 1″ diameter balls. Bake for 12 mins, then flip meatballs and bake for another 10 mins.

After all ingredients are prepared, layer squash, marinara sauce and meatballs in a bowl and ENJOY!! 🍝

Southwestern breakfast quesadilla

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Not the best photography but trust me when I tell you this is one amazing #breakfast. I’ve had a lot of people ask me for the recipe for my breakfast quesadillas. The good thing about these are that you can mix them up a million different ways. This southwestern style one in particular is a little heavier than my usual breakfast due to the steak, so I just lightened up my other meals. Basically I always make sure I hit my 3 essentials- CARBS (super important in the AM, but try to eliminate them as the day goes on) the whole wheat wrap, PROTEIN: 1/3C egg whites, 1 whole egg and some type of meat (today I used leftover sirloin steak but you can do sausage, bacon, turkey bacon, ham, whatever) and HEALTHY FATS: avocado today, u could do a drizzle of olive oil, butter, etc.

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Preparation:

Heat a skillet big enough to hold a whole wheat tortilla lying flat over medium heat. Spray with nonstick. When heated, put your tortilla in, browning both sides but not to the point it’s stiff. Remove and set aside on a plate. Next I added a handful of spinach, because it’s always good to get your leafy green veggies in where you can. Sauté the spinach for a minute, while u whisk together 1/3C egg whites, 1 whole egg, salt and pepper to taste and 1-2 Tbsp of salsa. Add that to pan with spinach. DO NOT SCRAMBLE. You want the eggs to cook in a solid circle, being careful not to burn. Carefully flip and cook briefly to finish the eggs then remove them and lay them atop the tortilla. (The round eggs should be basically the same size as your wrap) Sprinkle a small amount of shredded cheddar cheese. Dice up leftover steak (1-2oz) or whatever meat you’re using and cook in the skillet until it’s heated or cooked through. Place it atop eggs. I thinly sliced tomatoes and avocado, sprinkled with a bit more salt and pepper. Then fold over in half. Place the whole folded quesadilla in the skillet finishing browning the wrap on both sides and melting together all the goodness inside. Enjoy!

Fajita steak salad

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Made a fantastic fajita steak salad for dinner tonight. Rubbed a sirloin with lots of fajita seasoning, salt and pepper and seared it in the cast iron. Next, tossed in lots of green bell pepper, onion and minced garlic with the same seasoning I used for the steak as well as a spoonful of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for some heat. Built the salad with spinach, diced tomato, fajita veggies, 4oz of steak, a spoonful each of corn and black beans and topped with 1/4 avocado. To make a southwestern dressing, I mixed some adobo sauce with 2Tbsp of 45 calorie Greek yogurt ranch to taste. Not gonna brag but this is one of the best dinners I’ve made in awhile.

TGI EFFIN F!!!!

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The work week is drawing to a close and I am SO looking forward to a productive and enjoyable weekend……at home!  While everyone else I know will be goin hard at BRISTOL BABY , I’m booking my time with spring cleaning, open fires, delicious refreshments and fresh seafood.  Last weekend was so jam packed with engagements that it was over before it even started, and every weekend after this one is booked solid until JUNE with charity events and special occasions, so I just want to really soak in the downtime in my happy home.  

So what’s on the agenda so far?  

First things first, a much needed mani/pedi in the morning.  These nails are so grown out and my feet haven’t been done since my wedding.  In October. They’re so gross I can’t even con my husband into rubbing them when we’re on the couch watching TV.  

Following the salon, I’ll have to make my weekly grocery run and I am SO excited.  Today Earth Fare has $5/lb Key West Shrimp so I’m gonna have to get in on that deal and buy some stuff tomorrow to go along with it.  I’m thinking shrimp kabobs on the grill are sounding pretty darn good right about now.

Lemon garlic shrimp from http://damndelicious.net/2014/06/16/lemon-garlic-shrimp-kabobs/

Then I am flinging open my garage door and cleaning the devil out of that thing.  It is a NIGHTMARE in there. I’m making 3 piles in the driveway– “Keep” “Charity” “Garbage” and hopefully the “Keep” pile will be the smallest.  Everything else must go!  I also need to get my usual weekend cleaning done–floors, laundry, dusting, etc. I may be weird for this, it’s not like I’m looking forward to cleaning per se, but I feel so much more relaxed when my house is clean and all my clutter is gone.  

After all the tasks are done, THEN the fun can really start.  Last Sunday I built this super easy, cheap and fun fire pit, using an old crappy $20 fire pit I already had and 45 flagstones that were $2 each at lowes and we haven’t even got to fire it up yet!!  Well this weekend is looking like the perfect time for campfire cocktails and s’mores!  And I came across the perfect blackberry tequila punch to compliment my dinner today on Facebook.   

https://www.buzzfeed.com/robertbroadfoot/get-the-tequila#.ihXoazjXp
 
 
45 flagstones, arranged in a circular pattern to the size of a cheapo fire bowl. Ta-da!
 
Hopefully my Sunday will be filled with brunch and relaxing with my husband before next week starts up.  I hope you guys have a fabulous weekend whatever your plans may be!  

Quick, Crisp, Colorful–Summer Salads You’ll Crave

The Appalachian Barbie1 Comment

Mention the word “salad” at mealtime and chances are you’ll get a few death stares from your dining companions who either think you’re A) starving yourself or B) attempting to starve them. I know this look all too well coming from my bodybuilder hubby.  But with enough protein, these salads are enough to satisfy even his super-sized appetite.  In my opinion, there’s nothing better on a hot day than a crisp salad.  I love to top mine with a mixture of savory and sweet so I really feel like I got a well rounded meal and am not with an empty stomach at the end.  My only rule of thumb is to mind your measurements when it comes to your salad toppers.  Load your plate up with all the green veggies you can handle (I.e. Lettuces, spinach, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc), help yourself to a moderate amount of fruits (berries, melons, pineapples, apples, etc), measure out your protein, (4- 8 oz depending on your dietary needs), and go sparingly with the dressing, carbs and fats.  

SOUTHWESTERN SHRIMP SALAD

  

2 large sweet potatoes, diced

1 large bell pepper, sliced

1 large onion, sliced 

20 oz medium raw shrimp, dethawed, peeled, deveined, tail off

2T olive oil

1T Chili powder 

1 1/2 t Cumin

1/2 t Garlic powder

Salt and pepper 

Leafy greens ( I used baby spinach)

Tomatoes

1/4 Avocado, sliced

Plain Greek yogurt and salsa for dressing

Combine all ingredients except shrimp greens, tomatoes, avocado and dressings in a bowl or large ziplock.  Shake to coat with oil and seasonings.  Roast in a 375 degree oven for 20 mins or until potatoes are mostly tender. Shake shrimp in same oil and seasoning mixture, add to pan, and finish roasting until cooked through and shrimp are pink, around 10-15 mins.  Put roasted veggies and shrimp on top of salad mixture, serve with side of avocado, salsa and sour cream.  Feeds approx 4 ppl.

STRAWBERRY GOAT CHEESE GRILLED TURKEY SALAD

  

For this recipe I used (SURPRISE INGREDIENT!) turkey breast cutlets, although skinless, boneless chicken breasts works the same.  I just happened to catch some on sale and it’s a change of pace from the norm.  I marinated 1lb for 5 minutes in low sodium dale’s, sprinkled with steak rub and grilled to done, around 10 mins.  Pull from grill and let cool while you are prepping other ingredients.  (Use 4-8oz for salad, depending on dietary needs.)

Baby spinach

Fresh strawberries, sliced

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumbers, sliced

Sprinkling of walnuts

Sprinkle of goat cheese

Drizzled balsamic vinaigrette 

Build all ingredients to your liking and top with dressing. 

SWEET AND SPICY SHRIMP SALAD

  

Peeled, tail off, deveined and dethawed shrimp, sprinkled with old bay and baked for approx 15 mins in 375 degree oven, then tossed in sweet chili sauce

Greens

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumbers

Fresh pineapple, cut into chunks

Extra sweet chili sauce for dressing

With salads I feel like the possibilities are so endless and you can really cater to your own specific taste.  Do you have any favorite ways to build your own garden-on-a-plate???

Life Changes and Yummy Grub

The Appalachian Barbie5 Comments

Over the past month and a half I have been trying to get acclimated to a new schedule and a totally new lifestyle.  That’s right folks, the Appalachian Barbie has hung up her bar towel and joined the forces in the 9-5 grind.  I love it.  Do I love the pay cut I took doing this?  No way!  But I never believed the old saying “You can’t put a price on happiness” until I was forced out of my comfort zone  and had to do it.  My life within the service industry became like living in an abusive relationship.  The good shifts seemed REALLY good, but that was only because they were far outweighed by the crappy ones and, like most abusive relationships, I didn’t realize just how miserable I was until I was finally out.  I am by no means knocking jobs within the service industry.  It is KILLER money, there are great people who do it, the hours are flexible and your job is never boring.  But for me personally I couldn’t take it anymore.  I could no longer work at a job where I had to be “on” the entire time.  In my defense, I have a natural resting bitch face, and it is 10x worse when I am actually in a bad mood. I am a person who cannot hide their emotions, and if one more person said to me “WHY DONT YOU SMILE?  YOUD BE A REAL PURTY GIRL IF YOU SMILED MORE,” when all I was doing was pouring a beer and thinking, I was going to pull my hair out.  Realistically people don’t just walk around smiling for no reason. They would look crazy! Anyway, I digress, it was a case of right place right time, and now I have my own cute little office and no one bothers me and, as of right now, not one person has asked me to smile more.  And that alone is enough to make me smile more 🙂

Along with this new job comes a totally different lifestyle.  Tending bar meant going IN to work at 9p and getting home at 4a.  I would sleep until noon then have all day to run errands, gym and cook.  Even in my last job where we closed at 10p, I wouldn’t get home til midnight and most days didn’t have to be back until 4p. These days I wake up at 5:45a, get ready, take dogs out, cook breakfast and STILL am 5 mins late for my 8a call time.  I finally have weekends off and I have been filling them by joining as many charitable causes as time will allow. The entire month of May is filled with galas and benefits and spending my free time doing things that are making a difference makes me feel good.  I’ve also had to re-learn how to interact with people.  When dealing with inebriated people or people who are out to have a good time in general, you’re allowed to be a little more edgy with your conversation topics.  Not so much when you walk into an office full of women.  “Hey bitches what’s crappenin?” Is, for some reason, not an appropriate way to greet your co-workers.  

Out of all the changes, trying to get my health and fitness on track is proving to be the most difficult.  Although my schedule is the same every day, trying to get to the gym by 5:30, home by 7:30, food on the table by 8:30 and bed at 10 kind of sucks.  I hate going to bed that soon after eating.  There is no chill time.  And worst of all, I am going from almost 15 years working jobs where I was on my feet, constantly running around for 8-12 hours at a time, to now spending all day sitting behind a desk.  My body physically aches and I am gaining weight.  I have gained back 10lbs since this time last year and am thoroughly disgusted with myself. But I will triumph over these obstacles.  thankfully I still eat healthy, whole foods.  I shudder to think where I would be right now if I let myself fall back into old habits.  I still don’t eat fast food.  I don’t eat pork or red meat, and consume less than 1 1/2 cups of dairy each week.  My problem has been sweets and potatoes.  Every night for a week Mitch and I were unwinding with a brownie and a glass (or 2) of wine.  That adds up, no matter how good the rest of your diet is.  So basically, I need to get off my ass and watch my carbs.  So here are some meals I’ve been especially pleased with as of late.  Theyre not only healthy and low in calories, but also quick and easy to make! Enjoy!  

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

  

Hearty Savory Breakfast Bowl

I eat this probably 3-4 days a week. It is so delish, and you can change the meat out to bacon or ham if you’re so inclined.  

1/4 C steel cut oats

1C water

1C baby spinach

1/3C liquid egg whites

1 whole egg

1.5oz ground turkey breakfast sausage

Salt and pepper

Texas Pete hot sauce (optional)

Combine the oats and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook until done, around 10 mins.  While that is cooking , put baby spinach in a skillet coated with nonstick.  When spinach begins to wilt, add egg whites and scramble.  Put scrambled eggs and spinach in bowl.  In same pan, crack egg and fry to over easy.  Add it to bowl.  In same pan, cook breakfast sausage, crumbling.  When meat is cooked through and no longer pink, add to bowl.  Top with cooked oats.  Shake on salt and pepper to taste, hot sauce and stir well, breaking yolk from over easy egg and combing everything throughout.  

Calories 320

Fat 9 grams

Carbs 29.5 grams

Protein 28 grams

  

Good, Old Fashioned, Low Country Boil

Does it get any better than this?  If you can boil water, you can make this dish.  It’s stupid tasty, feeds a crowd, and is fun to eat with your hands!

3lbs small red potatoes

1 pk frozen corn on the cob, or 6 mini-ears

2-3lbs frozen raw shrimp, deveined,shell and tail-on, thawed

14oz smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1/2″ rounds

4T old bay seasoning

2 lemons cut in half

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil.  Add old bay and squeezed lemons. CAREFULLY add your potatoes *note: If potatoes are large, cut them to a smaller uniform size.  You want them to be small enough to cook quickly and at the same rate of time.* After potatoes begin to soften, around 10 mins, add corn and sausage. Bring water back to a boil.  When all is cooked through, add dethawed shrimp last.  Cook for around 5 minutes, until shrimp is pink and no longer translucent.  Drain liquid and serve on newspaper or a large platter.  

   
 
Kathie’s Hawaiian YumYum Chicken

I literally came up with this on a whim, using ingredients I had in the fridge.  It was amazing and totally cured my craving for pineapples. Serve with brown rice and a little teriyaki sauce.

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 medium onion, sliced

1lb of asparagus, cut into 2″ pieces

1/2 of a whole pineapple, cored and cut into chunks

1 1/2lbs of skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks

Jerk seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste

Coconut oil or olive oil

Add all ingredients to a large bowl or bag, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with seasonings.  Shake to coat evenly.  Distribute to a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 30 mins on 375 degrees.  

Garlicy Tomato Shrimp

The Appalachian Barbie2 Comments

Last night I made the most amazing dinner in less than 20 minutes!  Totally worthy of date night, this dish would have cost at LEAST $15- $20 each at a restaurant.  Between the cost of the wedding and the upcoming holidays the hubby and I are pretty strapped for cash, so enjoying each other’s company at home at a fraction of the cost is a great alternative to a night on the town!  I stole this recipe from the “Relish” insert in my local paper.   It sounded amazing and thank goodness the taste lived up to my expectations, actually even exceeded them!!  I paired mine with butternut squash rissoto and a crisp romaine salad topped with cucumbers, blue cheese crumbles and balsamic.  The risotto was the perfect partner to this dish, soaking up all that delicious white wine sauce.  And the best part about it was how quickly it was prepared.  Well, actually the BEST part was that we had an excuse to drink the wine that was left over in the bottle.  Below is the recipe, tweaked a little to my own personal preference.

3 tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves sliced thinly, crosswise

2 shallots sliced thinly, crosswise

1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half, lengthwise

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Cup dry white wine

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 lb medium-large shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails on (I bought the kind that are already cooked and frozen so I had to de-thaw them before cooking)

Heat olive oil in deep sauce pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes and cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes.  Add spices, wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil.  Simmer and cook until reduced by almost half, about 3 minutes.  Add shrimp and cook until heated through, about 3 more minutes.  
And that’s it!  You could even do this with pasta or plain rice.  I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

  

Quick and Simple Dinners

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Good afternoon everyone!  I hope you’re all enjoying a warm summer day in your neck of the woods.  I would like to just throw up a quick post about some simple delicious dinner ideas I’ve made as of late.  Hopefully you will be inspired to create something delicious in your own kitchen tonight!  That is my goal for this blog by the way.  Sometimes we get stuck in a rut whether it’s in the kitchen, with our beauty routine, wearing the same clothes, going to the same places, and I hope to be a source of creative inspiration to pull you out of that stagnation.  All of my recipes and ideas are simply something to get the gears turning and are open to your own incredible interpretation.  I try to post basic, simple concoctions so you can add your own spin to it and tailor it to your own unique tastes!  I encourage each and every one of you to use these ideas as a starting point and share with me your own versions of them!

So back to the recipes.

001First up we have a simple, healthy meal from the grill.  Nothing beats cooking outside in the summer, and a juicy steak with fresh sides is always a great go-to.  I marinade my steaks for only 5-8 minutes in Low Sodium Dale’s (any longer and it’s too salty.)  Then I sprinkle it with a dry rub steak mix (kroger brand is on my spice shelf now) and spray it with a little nonstick before slapping it on the grill.  LADIES- master the art of grilling!  There is nothing sexier than a woman that can prepare a perfectly cooked hunk of meat for their man.  I would  never recommend cooking a steak over medium, but I guess that’s all just a matter of taste.  As for the sides, I got some brussell’s sprouts on sale, so I drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and cracked pepper and roasted them in the oven until they were fork tender.  I also had a 1/2C of quinoa, seasoned with the same olive oil, salt and pepper mixture.

087I also made my honey a pork loin in the crock pot for dinner.  I rubbed it with seasoning salt, pepper and italian seasoning, minced garlic and fresh parsley and basil from my herb garden.  I tossed it in the slow cooker with some diced potatoes, drizzled with olive oil and more dry rub and a splash of low sodium soy sauce and let it cook about 10 hours.  It doesn’t get any easier than that.

097I also threw together a “kitchen sink” soup, meaning, I had a bunch of stuff going out of date and didn’t know what else to make, so I made soup.  I pulled out all my veggies and meat that I needed to use up.  In this case it was garlic, onions, squash, peppers (green bell and jalepeno), and ground turkey.  I browned my turkey with the onion, garlic and peppers in a deep pot.  When it was no longer pink, I added some odds and ends from my pantry-a few cans of organic beans (green beans and chili beans), a few tablespoons of tomato paste, some rotel, and chicken broth. Once that came to a boil, I turned down the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes covered.  I then added the squash and cooked it for about 5 minutes more then turned off the heat.  Voila! A delicious summer soup that will last for a weeks worth of lunches.

111120I also just wanted to share some of the beauties I’ve been pulling from the garden this year.  I am always so blessed with what comes from the vegetables I plant.

101Probably my favorite new recipe is this quinoa crust pizza I stumbled across.  I saw this recipe on the instagram “livegreenhealthy” and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made.  So far we’ve made 4 different types of pizzas on it, but this bbq chicken with jalepeno was a real crowd pleaser!  This would also be a delicious way to make cheese sticks.  Recipe:

1/2C quinoa

3tsp olive oil, divided

1C water

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp italian seasoning

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4C shredded italian cheese blend OR mozzarella

place uncooked quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and run under cool water for about a minute until water runs clear. Shake off as much excess liquid as pssible.  Add rinsed quinoa and 2tsp of olive oil to a medium sauce pot.  Turn the heat to medium high and stir occasionally for 6-7 minutes.The excess moisture will evaporate and the quinoa will begin to toast.  Carefully add the water to the toasted quinoa and cover.  Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Let quinoa cook for about 15 mins, stirring occasionally.  Remove lid and turn heat to low, cooking 5 more minutes to remove all excess moisture.  Transfer cooked quinoa to a large bowl and let cool for at leat 10 mins.  preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick.  In a small bowl, add eggs, 1tsp olive oil, garlic salt, italian seasoning and baking powder.  whisk until combined.  Add cheese to quinoa and stir to combine.  Add egg mixture to quinoa and stir well.  Spread the quinoa ‘dough’ into an even 1/4″ layer on the parchment.  Bake 15 minutes, top with sauce, toppings and cheese of your choice, then bake until all toppings are cooked through and cheese is melted and browning.  (Sometimes I finish under the broiler.)

121And finally, it doesn’t get any easier than a big fresh salad and chicken.  When you’re on a budget and wanting to eat healthy, you sometimes have to get creative.  Chicken legs are always a great alternative to more expensive breasts.  I marinated these in a mix of italian seasonings, garlic and olive oil and red wine vinegar, then baked them on 400 for about 25-30 minutes.  I filled my plate with fresh veggies and drizzled with a greek yogurt ranch dressing and that was that.  A simple healthy FILLING and inexpensive dinner.

I hope you’ll all try these out when you’re stumped on dinner.  Let me know how you tailored each dish to your own style!

Growing A Field of Dreams

The Appalachian Barbie3 Comments

Hey y’all!  It’s been a hot summer day here in East Tennessee, and we’re finally getting some relief around these parts with one of my favorite acts of nature–the afternoon summer thunderstorm.  To me, there is nothing more beautiful, calming and refreshing than a sudden downpour after the oppressive, sticky heat has built and built all day.  Especially if you’re fortunate enough to experience from a porch.  I also really love these so-called “frog floaters” because it means I don’t have to spend 45 mintues watering my plants and consequently raising my water bill.

I am so pleased with how everything I’ve planted this year has taken off.  From my windowboxes and landscaping, to my vegetable and herb gardens, everything that has touched the dirt has flourished.  I’d like to think it’s because the land here is still blessed from all the years of love and labor put forth by my grandparents.

In the front yard, we finally got around to doing a little landscaping.  Thankfully Lowe’s had their spring black friday sale and I was able to get some incredible deals, doing my entire front yard with brick pavers, black mulch and garden soil for less than $100.  I wanted something low maintenance, so we decided to thin out some of Momma’s hostas and transplant them here.  I am shocked to see people pay $4 a pop for these things at Lowes and Home Depot, when all you have to do is find someone who has them and dig up a small root!  They take off like crazy too.  Each bush in front of the house originally was one small leaf.  And just since April they have grown into full size bushes.  Momma also brought over some of her day lillies and we planted those off to the right of the front porch for some color.  Ferns dangle from the front porch in the shade and we filled the planters and some hanging baskets with brightly colored petunias.  (Side note:  I scaled WAY back on the petunias this year.  I absolutely loathe dead-heading these things.  Maybe if I were a stay at home lady it wouldn’t be such a task, but right now it seems like such a waste of time.)

Photo of front porch at the beginning of landscaping. Notice the pavers, lillies and hostas! Since this photo we have added more ferns and porch furniture though.
Photo of front porch at the beginning of landscaping. Notice the pavers, lillies and hostas! Since this photo we have added more ferns and porch furniture though.
ALL this for less than $100?? Yes please!
ALL this for less than $100?? Yes please!

 

I also wanted low maintenance on my window boxes this year.  So I did some research on shade loving window plants and went to town.  I really wanted to achieve that “Charleston-style” window box, where things are just spilling over the sides.  While I didn’t quite achieve that this year, I am tickled with the results I got for my first attempt.  They’re full and lush with pops of color, which is just what I wanted in the end.

windowbox1

Obsessed with my window boxes and how little effort I've had to put into them.
Obsessed with my window boxes and how little effort I’ve had to put into them.

I also planted a small herb garden for the first time and, as much as I love my vegetable garden, this little plot of heaven might be my favorite space in the yard.  I put it right off the kitchen for convenience when cooking, dressed it up with some cute fencing that also keeps away pesky rabbits, and decorated with a beautiful bird feeder/bath and some decorative stones.  So far I’ve only put out sweet basil, curly parsley, mint and rosemary, but it has all taken off.  We’re using my mint at the pub for our classic cocktails and it’s really neat to be able to see something I’ve put so much love into being incorporated into tasty treats for customers.

A classic whiskey smash using mint from my garden
A classic whiskey smash using mint from my garden

And now for the main event–the vegetable garden.  Last year I only put out a 6ft raised bed with a few tomatoes and peppers and I was overrun.  So this past autumn, someone told me if I threw out my decorative pumpkins and gourds into my garden soil and let them rot, then when I tilled it come spring, the soil would be extra rich and fertile.

They failed to mention that I should remove the seeds.

Within a week of Daddy tilling the bed, THIS was my 6ft garden.
Within a week of Daddy tilling the bed, THIS was my 6ft garden.

I had a monster pumpkin patch on my hands.  I threw more than 10 different varieties of pumpkins and gourds into that space and now they’re all blended together.  So god only knows what is going to come out of it.  Needless to say, we had to till a bit more soil.  So Mitch’s uncle Joel came over and ended up expanding my garden more than 4x the original size, and gave me some corn and pole bean seeds he had saved from his crop last year.  I’ve never tried my hand at either but thought, “what the heck.”  It has exploded.  in the weeks since May 5 my garden has went from this:

pregarden

To this:

Cucumbers and squash half
Cucumbers and squash half
Corn and beans half
Corn and beans half

It was too much to fit into one pic.  Note the giant pumpkin patch in the middle of the garden.  (it’s on the left side of the first pic and the right side of the bottom pic) I just started getting my first fruit too.  All my little babies are so cute I can’t wait to harvest them!

Heirloom stripey tomatoes, cucumbers, jalepenos and yellow squash to name a few.
Heirloom stripey tomatoes, cucumbers, jalepenos and yellow squash to name a few.

I’m fairly certain within the next month I will be making more salsa and marinara. and I’m so excited.  I urge anyone to try their hand at gardening.  It just tastes so much better, and it’s a really neat feeling to know exactly where your food is coming from and to be able to eat something you have put a lot of love and effort into is quite rewarding.  Gardens used to be the only way a family could eat and unfortunately with my generation that has all but died out.  I would love to see a revolution of young growers!  Share your pics from your garden and let me know what you have growing!  Til then I’ll just be here being fabulous in my field of dreams!

Appalachian Barbie in her happy place :)
Appalachian Barbie in her happy place 🙂

 

Cut Out the Crap!

The Appalachian Barbie4 Comments

Hey guys!  Hope you’re all staying cozy and warm during this nasty winter storm.  I was just sitting here enjoying a warm bowl of oats and watching the snow fall and got to thinking about the American diet and the struggle for the average person to get fit in a world so heavily influenced by “fast” food and “convenient” boxed and frozen dinners.  One of the biggest challenges in the journey to a healthy lifestyle is learning how to eat correctly.  Re-teaching your mind -and body- to not just consume, but also enjoy, whole nutritious meals can seem like a daunting task.  Well I’m not going to sugar coat it–

YOU.  HAVE.  TO CUT.  THE CRAP.

I mean that literally and figuratively.

I don’t want to sound mean in the following paragraphs.  But it’s time to get real and stop making excuses.  I hate excuses.  Everyone has one and all it is is another version of lazy.  I’m sorry to tell you but we’re all busy.  We’re all tired.  We all have outside circumstances that could influence our schedules.  But the answer is to MAKE YOURSELF A PRIORITY.  Human nature is to make time for the things that are important.  I can guarantee that you make time in your busy schedule to watch your favorite tv show, or get your nails done, or go to the bar for a drink after a stressful day.  So these are the things that are important to you.  It’s time to make yourself and your health your most important priority, because at the end of the day, why would you put that other stuff first??  That tv show, or your nail appointment, or that cocktail have never done anything for you and in the grand scheme of things what is it going to matter?  The things you are fueling your body with are going to have much more of an influence on your life in the long run than missing an episode of Real Housewives.

Along with getting real, it’s time to starting eating real.  No good can come from living on a diet filled with processed, preservative rich, mystery crap that comes from a drive-thru window or a box in the microwave.  It’s disgusting.  For god’s sake, pick up a box of hamburger helper and try to decode the nutrition information.  If you can’t pronounce it, don’t flippin eat it.  I am not trying to toot my own horn or be obnoxious, but one of the things I am most proud of is conquering the addiction to fast food. I’ve probably eaten fast food 4 times in the past 2 years and I felt disgusting each and every time. Anything that is sold so cheaply and to such a mass quantity of people can’t be good.  Not even subway! Their lettuce comes in a vacuum sealed bag, filled with preservatives so it can survive the distribution process without turning brown.  You’re ingesting that.  Lean Cuisines, Weight Watchers Meals….even most “protein bars” are full of awful crap that the human body should not be trying to break down!  It’s high time to stop eating for convenience and start eating for your health.

With all that being said, there is good news!  You don’t have to spend all day every day planning meals and thinking about workouts.  (Although for some of us, that sounds like a good time.)  With a little bit of scheduling, a healthy, nutritious diet can be just as convenient as hitting a drive thru on your lunch break.  The biggest step you can take to getting healthier is setting a schedule and sticking to it.  Scheduling out time to meal plan, a day to hit the store for the week, and time to prep your meals will soon become second nature if you just stick to it for a month.  This type of lifestyle will also be hugely beneficial to your budget.  I allow myself $75/wk for groceries and I only go to the store once a week.  That means that I better get what I need and if I run out, it’s tough titty said the kitty.  Make do with other stuff until the next trip to the store.  When you think about it, $75 is less than 3 average trips to a restaurant.

So here is a sample of how I schedule my diet planning:

-On Monday evening, I discuss with Mitch what he wants to eat for the upcoming week.  (The only meals we actually cook every day are breakfast and dinner.  The rest of our meals are already prepped.)

-On Tuesday afternoon we go to the grocery store with our list.  This process usually takes an hour from start to finish.  Always on the list-skinless boneless chicken breast, tuna, spinach, brown rice/quinoa, almond milk, steel cut oats, egg whites, fruit…..

-Tuesday evening or Wednesday, we put 6 lbs of chicken in the crock pot to cook.  You can do this before you go to work, or before you go to run errands. ( This is where I get annoyed with people who say they have no time to meal prep.  Really??  You don’t have time to open a pack of chicken and put it in a slow cooker with some  water?  )  I also cook up my rice/quinoa for the week.

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Prepping things this way makes meals as easy as grabbing a handful of shredded chicken and weighing it to your specifications.  Or grabbing a 2/3C measuring cup and scooping out your grains.  Throw those in a tupperware together with a big handful of spinach.  When it’s time to eat, throw on a splash of teriyaki and microwave for a minute and a half.  Done.  There is lunch.

It also is helpful to get in the habit of eating basically the same thing every day except for dinner.  I know it sounds boring, but once your body gets used to it, it starts to crave these meals.

Weaning your body off of these processed, sugar and preservative filled crap foods is going to physically be a challenge as well.  Just like a heroin addict, your body is going to detox off sugar.  I promise.  You will feel like crap.  You’re going to feel off.  Maybe get headaches.  Maybe even sick.  this is your body withdrawing from the unnatural junk it’s been used to.  But don’t despair.  It only lasts a few days.  And then your body is going to start rejecting the bad stuff.  These days, if I eat things I’m not supposed to, my body physically rejects it.  I can’t eat red meat more than 3 times a month.  Dairy makes me violently ill.  If I eat pasta I will bloat to the point that my pants don’t fit.  I am completely, physically miserable.

This doesn’t mean you have to eat boring, bland brown rice and chicken every day.  It just means educating yourself on healthy substitutions!  For example–

Say you heat up a packet of microwave quaker oats every morning.  INSTEAD, scoop out 1/4C of steel cut organic oats into a small pot with 1C of water.  Once it starts to boil, it only takes around 10 mins to cook.  In that time you can be cooking a healthy egg scramble, making your coffee or even blowdrying your hair.  Add a spoonful of vanilla greek yogurt, 1 packet of stevia and 1/4C of fresh blueberries for berries and cream flavored.  Or a dash of cinnamon sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup for maple brown sugar flavored.

OR

If it’s burgers you crave–prep a 1lb pack of 93% lean ground turkey into 4 4oz patties.  I like to mix up my meat with a few dashes of low sodium Dale’s and a tablespoon of burger seasoning (seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder).  Throw them on the grill or skillet with some nonstick and serve them on a toasted whole wheat english muffin or high fiber bread loaded with greens and tomatoes

French fries- don’t buy a bag of frozen crap.  Slice a potato, toss in olive oil, sea salt, pepper.  bake for 20 mins on 425 degrees.  finish off under the broiler for a couple minutes to get that crisp outside layer.

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The goal for changing the way you eat is to eliminate all the unneeded fillers and crap and stick to minimal wholesome ingredients.  When eating, less is more.  Give it a shot.  I promise you’ll feel better and look better!