Banana Muffins

I just made some delicious banana muffins for breakfasts and desserts when I need something. They have less sugar because they are made partially with honey. Here is the link! Banana Muffins

Over the Hump

Week 1 is halfway over and so far so good! I have full points all around, except not eating after 8, which is probably never going to happen. But I have been off sugar for 3 days and I feel pretty good! I have even lost a bit of weight already! I think I had a bit of a sugar withdrawal headache on Monday and dreamt I was trying to sneak chocolate but got caught...But now things are good and I have surprisingly not had too hard a time turning down treats! I do find myself planning for my day off though. Hope everyone else is doing good and having fun!  -Mal

Participants

Tomorrow is the big day. I just want to confirm who is participating:

Mom, Dad, Jen, Mandy, Emily, Mallory, Inalee and Ashley. If I have missed anyone, please let me know.

Good Luck to everyone!!

-Em

Ranch Pork Chops

My first recipe contribution! I made these last week and the sauce was delish!

Ranch Pork Chops

1Tbsp Vegetable Oil (or olive oil because that's really all I use)
4 Pork Chops
1 can (10 3/4oz) Cream of Mushroom Soup (Preferably low sodium and low fat if you care about that)
3/4 c Milk
1 envelope Ranch salad dressing mix (I make my own because the store bought kind has a ton of sodium and whatnot so I will post that recipe just below this one.)
Paprika

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and cook until browned on both sides.
Stir the soup, milk and 1/2 pkg salad dressing mix in skillet and heat to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until pork is cooked through. Sprinkle with paprika.

It says to serve with rice but I served it with potatoes and veggies microwaved with onions, olive oil and spices like Mom does it. It's the best way to do vegetables!

It calls to use only 1/2 the salad dressing mix but I missed that part and used the whole thing and it turned out awesome so I don't think it would matter either way. These were really yummy and I am excited to make them again!


Ranch Dressing Mix

2 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper

Combine in bowl carefully. Store in canning jar. Makes enough to equal 1 packet store bought mix.

ENJOY!   -Mal

Welcome back! And Welcome to the Beginning of the End...

The end of being unhealthy and overweight, that is! I have once again re purposed this blog for something new! Originally I was going to change it so we could use it as a place to swap and share recipes that we love or have just tried and really enjoyed. Then Em asked if I would be interested in participating in an 8 week challenge to get a start on being healthy and losing weight. Of course I always enjoy a good challenge, especially one with an opportunity to be creative and use poster board to make charts, so I agreed. So now this blog has become a place to not only share recipes but also to keep track of the challenge and to post motivating ideas and thoughts to help each other succeed. The rules and explanation of the challenge can be found here! I have also added a link to the right that says Get Healthy Challenge. If you click on that it will take you to the challenge. Take a look and if you would like to join us just let Em know or comment on this post and we will get started on Monday! And yes, there will be a cash prize that all participators contribute to, as explained in the rules. There are also 2 polls on the sidebar so please take a moment to look and answer the questions. You have until Sunday night at 7:00 to contribute to the results. I am really excited to get going and to start making some new healthier habits that will hopefully help me to lose a few more pounds! And please remember to share your recipes because I am always looking for something new!

Bootcamp

So I just finished my latest 8-week session of bootcamp classes and I am pretty happy with my results. I really only lost a couple pounds, which was frustrating, but I lost inches in a few places. My waist, hips, abductors, thighs, and calfs all got a little smaller! All together I lost about 5 inches. I'm on my way. Mandy

Weight Loss Challenge!

Hello Everyone!

It's been a long time since we've had a post on this blog, and I hope you all don't mind but I have repurposed it from our book club to our new Weight Loss Challenge Blog! The last time I was home a few of us talked about how we should have a competition to see who could lose the biggest percentage of weight between now and Christmas and I think now is a good time to make it official!

As you can see on the right side bar I have created a ticker for everyone to keep track and show off your success! If you don't want to participate or are not interested in showing your progress then feel free to either delete the gadget from the blog or tell me and I can do it for you! As for updating your ticker I will let everyone know how to do this, it's easy as 1-2-3!

Now as for this blog, I thought it would also be the perfect place for us to share tips and tricks, recipes, maybe things that are working for you that the rest of us could try to help us all get into better shape. So let's have fun with this and good luck! Let's see who can lose the highest percentage of weight in the next 3 months!