Works For Me Wednesday - One World One Heart 2011

What works for me is being part of a fabulous blog carnival that allows me to find exciting new crafty type blogs and enter hundreds of giveaways for crafty stuff!

I haven't yet posted my own giveaway as I am a slacker :)

But the One World One Heart runs until Feb 17th - you can post your giveaway any time before that.

You can also just browse the blogs participating and enter the giveaways!

Check out One World, One Heart 2011 (the final year)

Works For Me Wednesday - Easier Juicer Cleanup

For the past week or so I have been drinking fresh vegetable & fruit juice. I have a pretty decent juicer that takes just a minute or two to juice half an English cucumber, a small beet, 3 stalks of celery and a large apple. The juicing part is simple. The cleanup, not so much.

I have found a way to simplify it a bit. I am reusing those plastic produce bags to line the pulp catcher (yes that is the technical name :)) Make sure to fold it over the edge and the lid will hold it in place.

Many people reuse the veggie pulp in things like meatloaves or the fruit pulp in muffins, if you plan to do that, line the pulp catcher with a ziplock bag so you can close it and put in the fridge or freezer. Since I mix the both veggies & fruit, I don't save my pulp for anything.

So once I have made my juice, I simply wash all the removeable parts and toss the bag of pulp - I don't have to wash or dump the pulp catcher. It saves me a bit of hassle.

The juice looks a bit better once I stir it - and it actually taste pretty good too :)

Works For Me Wednesday - Finding Recipes on the Internet

Recently on a blog I read, the question was posed, "What are you favourite cookbooks?"

I have about 8 cookbooks. They have never even been unpacked since I moved to this house 3 years ago.

I don't need cook books. I never follow recipes to the letter, I always tweek it a bit.

But ...I always get my recipes off the Internet. Who needs actual cook books when you have recipe sites galore?!

Some of my favourites include:

Allrecipes.com - you can search by dish name or plug in some ingredients and see what matches up. I love that most have photos and they have ratings to tell you what others thought of the dish.

FoodGawker.com - Absolutely mouthwatering photos and simpy by clicking the link, you are taken to the blog of the recipe maker. This is a greaqt way to find new food blogs. You can also seasch by dish name or ingredient.

The Pioneer Woman - you'd have to have been living under a rock not to know who this is. She has great recipes in her Cooking section and she also started the spin-off cooking site, TastyKitchen where members can contribute. Again lots of photos and reviews.


Gina's Skinny Recipes - low fat recipes that still look amazingly appetizing, included WW points

For more great Works for me Wednesday tips, pop over to We are THAT family.

Works For Me Wednesday - CSN Stores

What works for me is CSN Stores. I have done 2 reviews for them so far. The latest review is of this Delonghi Convection Toaster Oven with Rotisserie.

We have used it to make frozen pizza, apple crisp, cheese toast, Jamaican patties, crescent roll pizza and frozen fish and chips.

The only thing it doesn't do well is toast LOL but we still have our regular toaster.

I read a bunch of reviews on it online before I ordered it and several complained about the racks not having a middle support so that when you pull them out, there is a place where they tip slightly - I don't see this as an issue at all, you pull the rack out and grab your food, you don't just leave it hanging there.

The CSN Store experience is great! My order was processed quickly and easily and the delivery (to Canada) was very quick.

I highly recommend both this toaster oven and CSN Store. Check them out at CSNStores.com.

For more Works for me Wednesday tips, pop over to We are that family.

Works For me Wednesday - Backwards Edition

This week's WFMW is a backward edition where I get to ask all of you helpful blog readers for assistance with a problem.

Well it's not a problem really. Since I have been trying to lose weight, I have been experimenting with different recipes.

I have found some I love (Kalyn's Taco Salad recipe) and some that were not so great.

So I am asking anyone reading, what are some of your favourite healthy lower fat recipes? They don't have to be low-carb.

I am getting tired of the same ol same ol, yanno?

So if you can help me out with a get recipe (or a link to one), it would be much appreciated :)

For more Backward WFMW, pop over to We Are That Family.

Works For me Wednesday - Keeping your mind off food

I am now on day 3 of the South Beach diet - and actually it is going quite well.

On a swap website I belong to (Swap-bot.com), I recently participated in a "10 things to do instead of eating" email swap. Tips to help each other stay motivated and not give in to tempation.

Here are mine:

• Crochet granny squares – they are a small enough project that you can whip one up in about 15-20 minutes (or less if you are good J). You can use odds and ends of different wool and make it a never-ending colourful project.

• Make ATCs. You are probably familiar with ATCs, but if not, they are artist trading cards. Small works of art. Again easy to whip one off in a short amount of time or equally easy to spend hours making several.

• Read a good book. I order books online from the library, so always have something on hand to read.

• Write a blog post. Pre-write posts so that you always have something interesting on your blog.

• Give yourself a beauty tune-up. Go find a facial mask of some type, use it, file your nails, pluck your eyebrows, have a nice soak in the tub, shave your legs.

• Journal about your day, how you are feeling and what your plans are. Stay positive!

• Doodle. Just grab a scratch pad and a pen and doodle. Some doodles turn out to be works of art!

• Clean & organize your hall closet. Put away the winter gear and get those sandals and sun hats ready to wear.

• If feeling crappy, write your feelings down on a piece of paper and then burn it! (Practice safety of course!).

• Set the timer on the microwave for 10 minutes and then do a frantic quick clean. See how much you can accomplish in 10 minutes. Empty the dishwasher, wash some dishes, sweep the floor, put in a load of laundry, fold a load of laundry, clean out the fridge, fluff the sofa cushions, straighten some magazines. The list is endless. And you will feel like you have accomplished something instead of eating.

Sharing tips works for me!

For more great WFMW tips go to We Are That Family.

Works For me Wednesday - Starting Over with Weight Loss pt2

So to continue with last week's WFMW post, I am getting back on track with losing weight.

I have decided to go with The South Beach Diet. It is kind of like the Atkin's Diet, only healthy :)
No copious amounts of fat and red meat. I know many people have been successful with Atkin's but that doesn't make it healthy. The amount of people who also acquired health issues while doing Atkin's cannot be ingored.

Anyhow...off the soapbox.

South Beach Diet Phase 1. (Basics - if you want specifics, get the book)

• No starches (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, cereal)
• No sugar (I usually add sugar to my coffee, so will be using Stevia in powder form instead, not crazy about it but...)
• No fruit or fruit juices
• Nothing high in fat (no full fat cheese, no skin on chicken, no bacon etc...)

So what WILL I eat?

One of the key things to achieve is to really UP your veggie intake. Eat as many as possible.

This is my plan.

Breakfast

• 1 egg, 2 egg whites, scrambled with green onion & mushrooms in PAM-like spray
• Sliced tomato
• Ham bacon, or lean Canadian bacon - 2 pcs
• Coffee, 1% milk & stevia

Lunch

• Mixed greens - 3 cups
• grape tomatoes
• 1/2 tin tuna in water, drained
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  
• 1/4 avocado diced

Snack

• 2 ribs celery
• 1 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese
  

Dinner

• Grilled chicken breast
• 2 cups Roasted veggies - mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, zucchini, garlic

I can probably add stuff to this if I needed to, but I eat far too often right now, one of my bad habits, and I have to get over that. Being home is a challenge too, I can constantly be noshing.

Of course, I will need to drink my kazillion gallons of water as well. I do ok now, with probably a liter or a liter and a half per day, but I need to drink more.

Hopping on the treadmill or taking Peanut out for a walk won't kill me either.

I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. Anyone want to do it with me?

For more great ideas, pop over to Shannon's place (this week only then back to Kristen's place)

P.S. If anyone has any great dieting tips or inspiration, I would LOVE to hear them!

Works For me Wednesday - Starting Over with Weight Loss pt1

Starting Over - with weight loss that is.

It is time....again :P

It is time to get serious about weight loss. I have no more excuses, the holidays are long over, (even though we did have tons of stuff left over that took us into January), Valentine's Day is over (even though we really don't celebrate it), and it is finally getting nice enough outside to take walks again (ah here comes that massive snowstorm!).

Although I am very overweight, it is not because of yo-yo dieting. I actually haven't done that much dieting in my life. I plan to diet ALL the time, actually doing it...not so much.

I did Weight Watchers a year or so ago and was successful for the 1st week then yo-yoed for the remaining couple months I was a member. Down a couple pounds one week, up a couple the next. I think when I quit, I was up 2 pounds from where I started. This is not WW's fault, but I didn't like paying the $17 a week for half hour meeting that was half WW product pushing.
If I had stuck with the program it would have worked.

Back in 2004 I did The South Beach Diet and I think that is what I am going to do this time too.
I was decently successful with it - I lost about 17 lbs. After the initial 2 wk phase that is quite challenging, I felt SO much better it is hard to describe. I felt lighter mentally! Dh also kind of did the program and lost about 12 lbs.

But then my Mom passed away and I slid right back into my bad eating patterns and have been there ever since - habits are so much easier. No thought required.

I have been thinking about vegetables a lot lately, I think my body is craving them since it hasn't had them in so long :)

In phase 1 of the SBD you cannot eat ANY fruit or fruit juice. This really shouldn't be an issue for me as I am not currently eating many fruits anyhow (I know I should be). I also have to cut out ALL starches:

• Bread
• Potatoes
• Cereal
• Pasta
• Rice

This will be the challenging part! I love pretty much all of these with the exception of cereal.

In Phase 2 you can reintroduce some of these but in healthy whole grain format.

I am at a point right now where I crave an unhealthy food, go eat it (sometimes in copious amounts) and afterward still not feel satisfied or even enjoy it while eating.

I sometime eat something salty, which needs to be followed with something sweet, which in turn needs something salty again...and so on... I don't think I know what I am looking for.

For anyone out there reading thinking I am trying to fill an emotional void...stop right now.

I probably should have lead with this - I have NO self esteem issues. Sure I'm fat, but I am still a great person.

Half the time, I forget that I am fat until I see a mirror, then it is like "Wow when the hell did THAT happen?!"

I don't put myself down. I state the facts. I AM fat. Mostly because I AM lazy. Just the facts. I KNOW I can do anything if I set my mind to it - it's just the Setting part that I am not so good with :)

So I don't necessarily eat because I am sad, mad, lonely, depressed etc... I eat because I like to eat and because it is a habit. Watching TV? Must have munchies. Even if I just finished dinner. Reading a good book, must have snacks.

These are all habits - habits that MUST be broken.

Wow this became much longer than I planned - I'll continue this post next week...but for now...Starting Over with Weight Loss Works for me!

For more great ideas, pop over to Shannon's place (this wk & next only then back to Kristen's place)

P.S. If anyone has any great dieting tips or inspiration, I would LOVE to hear them!

Works For Me Wednesday - Breakfast Burritos in Bulk

I enjoy having breakfast burritos for breakfast. They usually just contain egg, ham bacon, green onion, a bit of cheese all wrapped up in a tortilla. You can pretty much add whatever you like or have in the fridge.

I have been making them for the past few mornings for breakfast when I had an "A HA" moment. I was doing this same thing each and every morning.

So yesterday, I sauteed 2 sliced green onions with 4 slices of ham bacon in butter spray.

I also whipped up 5 eggs, a bit of water and seasoning salt in a bowl.

Once the onions and ham were cooked a bit, I mixed them with the eggs and poured it into a loaf pan I had sprayed with butter spray.

I popped it in the oven and baked for about 50 minutes.

When it came out, I cut it into 4 pcs and let it cool.

I sliced a few ounces of cheddar VERY thinly.

I layed out a tortilla, added a bit of the cheese, a cooled egg rectangle, then wrapped it up and then wrapped it in a paper towel.

I made 4 of these and placed them into 2 medium ziplock bags. One went into the freezer and one in the fridge.

So this morning, all I had to do was take one out of the bag in the fridge and nuke it for 2 minutes and breakfast was ready!

These are great when I am working, I grab one and heat it up once I get to work. You could even make more by using an 8x8 or 9x13 pan. They freeze well.

This works for me! For more great ideas, go to We are that family.

Works For Me Wednesday - Holiday Tip

This weeks WFMW theme is Holiday/Entertaining/Celebration Tips.

In Canada we have already had our Thanksgiving, so our next holiday is Christmas.

One thing I have done in the past and regretted is when I have a crowd of people over during the holidays and I end up being stuck in the kitchen making food the entire time.

We tend to do a large assortment of finger type foods for these events since we really don't have the room for a large sit down dinner. And since only so much will fit in the oven at any one time, I tend to be in there awhile.

This year I am going to premake as much as possible before the party. I will aim for more food that doesn't require cooking, such as veggies & dips and crackers & cheese.

As for things like meatballs and chicken wings that keep me occupied in the kitchen while others are chatting, I will instead make these a little before the party and simply keep them warm in the oven or crockpot.

I'm going to enjoy my guests and not feel so rushed!

For more WFMW holiday tips, pop over to We Are That Family.

Works For Me Wednesday - Frugal Editon

Today's Works for me Wednesday is the frugal edition.

My frugal tip for today is to use rags (in this case old towels) instead of paper towels or swiffer cloths when cleaning.

I recently bought a large bag of used towels (but still in really good condition) from the thrift store for $3. Inside were 3 large bath towels and 7 smaller hand towels.

I think I will save 2 of the larger towels for when I need to bathe the dogs (so I don't get dog hair on our towels) and cut up the others for spring cleaning.

I can use them for wiping down anything and everything (bathroom/kitchen counters, window sils, light switches, baseboards, sinks, mirrors), and I will cut them to size and attach to my swiffer duster to use either wet or dry to sweep/wipe the floors.

And then I will simply toss them into the washer and use them again and again and not waste money on those swiffer refills.

Old towels as rags works for me!

For more great WFMW tips, go by We Are THAT Family.

Works For Me Wednesday - Backward Version

Today's WFMW post is the backward theme - which means, I ask you what works for you, instead of telling you what works for me.

My question is for all those bread bakers out there...I recently made 100% whole wheat bread using this recipe, which has pretty decent reviews.

It rose well and looks great but has a horribly bitter aftertaste and is inedible.

Why does my whole wheat bread taste bitter?

Works For Me Wednesday - Thrift Store Shopping

Post partially recycled from July 2008


I LOVE thrift stores!

I mostly buy fabric at thrift stores. I find brand new fabric. I have gotten some really good deals.

Check out my finds here, here, here and here!

This quilt is made completely from fabric I got at value Village. Total cost of fabric is approx. $13.

Last week my sister and I made a trip to two different Value Village stores. I was looking for fabric and wool for my granny squares. Neither was to be found this time, however, I did find these two fabulous table cloths.

The beige one will be used as a topper over my current dining room table - it isn't large enough to be used alone. It was $4.99.

Please note, those are water marks from my
not-supposed-to-leak iron, not stains of any kind

I'm not sure what I will do with the second one. I don't have a table it will fit - it is a small square. But for $3.99 I couldn't pass it up.

This photo doesn't do the tablecloth justice -
it really is a nice white on white embroidered pattern
I didn't iron this one yet as my new iron has some gunk
coming out of it and I didn't want it on the cloth - why
can't they make decent small appliances these days?

When my son was younger I was able to get him clothing in good condition - but now that he is older, not so much.

My sister buys most of her wardrobe at thrift stores. She often finds item with tags still attached for only a few dollars. She is able to update her wardrobe each fall and spring due to the savings.

Even if we don't find a good deal at a thrift store, we always have fun checking out all the stuff and saying "wow didn't Mom have one of those?" or "I remember that!"

It's also a great place to buy books.

So if you haven't recently, go check out your local thrift store - they work for me!

For more great Works For Me Wednesday tips, stop by We are THAT family.

Works For Me Wednesday - Quilting Tip

Today's Works For Me Wednesday tip is on how to make multiple half squares for quilting, all at one time.

Half squares come into play in quilting quite a bit, so it is nice to be able to make several at once, instead of one at a time.

First I drew a template and photo copied it several times.

Then I cut 2 pcs of fabric the correct size and placed them good sides together.

Pin the layers and the template together

Next you sew on the two outside lines. The middle line is where it will be cut.
When I get to the corners of the next square, I stop the machine and move
the fabric, so I am not stitching the corner. I have stitched over the corners
before and they are very easy to just rip out the few stitches there.

Start cutting the squares apart

Then cut each square into triangles by cutting through the middle line.

Rip off the paper

Snip the corners
Press the seams flat
And finally iron

You now have 16 half squares done in half the time it would have
taken you to do them individually.

Happy quilting!

For more great Works For Me Wednesdays post, go to its new home.

Works For Me Wednesday - List Making

I am a list maker.

There I said it. I have come out - do with me what you will.

If I really want to accomplish anything, I MUST write it down.

Once it is set to paper I WILL remember it. And usually, if I remember it, I will do it.

I love to make lists. I have too many lists all over the place, on paper, in my email task files, in spreadsheets.

I love the sense of accomplishment I get when I am able to take a pen and draw a line through a completed item on my list. I'm a list geek Yes.

Now just because I make lists, doesn't mean I complete EVERYTHING on my list, some things get moved to tomorrow's list, but still I do love my lists :)

Lists work for me.

To see what works for everyone else, go here.

Works For Me Wednesday - StumbleUpon

If you haven't heard of it before - StumbleUpon is a website used to discover web sites based on your interests.

When you register (free) you list your interests. You get a nifty lil button added to your toolbar and whenever you want, simply click the Stumble button to be taken to a random website that matches the interests chosen.

I have found so many interesting websites this way.

Check it out - very easy - very cool - works for me!

For most great Works for me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks in my Dryer.

Works For Me Wednesday - Working Under Pressure

Working under pressure works for me.

I am the ultimate procrastinator. I put everything off as long as I possibly can.

I started working on a baby quilt for my niece about a month and a half ago - and then I didn't work on it anymore. Well the baby shower is this coming Sunday - I have to finish the quilt.

The top was finished but it wasn't until today that I finally sandwiched and pinned the quilt and began machine quilting it. I am about 90% complete the quilting and then I have to cut the binding strips and then bind it and it will be done.

Baby quilt - quilted in the ditch (cus my machine is crappy!)

Binding fabric - yet to be cut

I planned to make a couple burp cloths and bibs as well. I have two finished burp cloths but no bibs yet.

Two burp cloths.

Leaving things til the last possible moment may not be great for everyone, but it gets me seriously motivated and I get things done.

I will post pictures of the finished goods sometime soon - probably at the last minute :)

To see what works for others, go to Rocks in my Dryer.

Works For Me Wednesday - Softer smoother skin

Last weekend I bought some sea salt scrub and body butter bar, both in Lilac scent from a a local vendor at the fair - Nature's Salon. I tested them both at the booth on my hands - the results where amazing - my hands felt so soft after using the sea salt scrub and even more so after applying the body butter. I bought a jar of each for a total of $16.

The next day in the shower after washing, I took about a tsp of the sea salt scrub and rubbed both my arms and my legs, then I rinsed thoroughly. The salt acts as a natural exfolient and removes dead skin leaving soft skin.

After I had dried off from my shower I used the body butter bar like a bar of soap and just rubbed it (dry) on my arms and legs. It is slightly greasy, so go easy on it. The lady at the booth recommended putting the body butter on at night so it could soak in better.

I really love this product and the scent is so nice. It works for me.

To see what works for other people, stop by Shannon's

Five Ingredients (or less) Recipes

Cream of Broccoli Soup without cream (my family calls this Frog Soup cuz that sounds more fun :))

• 

• Frozen broccoli - lrg bag - chopped small (I use my food processor)

• Chicken stock - 4 cups
• 1 onion - diced small
• cream cheese - 3 tbsps
• seasoning - salt & pepper or seasoning salt.

1. Put broccoli, onion, seasoning and stock in pot.
2. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer - simmer for an hour.
3. Take off the heat.
4. Using a hand blender - blend the soup until completely pureed (use a reg blender 2 cups at a time if you don't have a hand blender)
5. Return to low heat.
6. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.
7. Serve and enjoy.

Chili Dogs

• Hotdogs
• Buns
• Tin of chili (can also use homemade if you have any)
• Grated cheddar
• Onion (optional - I hate raw onion)

1. Cook hotdogs - boil or grill
2. Heat chili
3. Place dog in bun
4. Top with chili and sprinkling of cheese (and onion if using)

Taco Mac & Cheese

• Box of mac & cheese
• Leftover taco meat
• Grated cheddar

1. Make mac & cheese as per directions on box
2. Add heated taco meat
3. Add handful grated cheese and stir
4. Eat!

To see tons of 5 ingredient recipes - check out Life As Mom

Works For Me Wednesday - Email Calendar

I use Microsoft Outlook as my email application. It has this cool calendar that I can enter all my Dr. appts, dentist appts, birthdays, dates that bills are due, kid's soccer practice and game schedule, all kinds of things actually.

And the best part?.....It reminds me of those things with this little pop up message. I can even hit snooze on the pop up if I am not able to do the task right away. I can set the reminder anywhere from 15 minutes before to 3 days before.

I never forget anything anymore. I even use it to remind me to post for WFMW!

I'm not sure how many other email applications include calendars, but it is definitely worth checking out.

For more great tips - check out Rocks in my Dryer.