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stuffing
In What We Eat

Mom’s Homemade Stuffing

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My favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving is my mom’s homemade stuffing. Therefore, with her permission, I am sharing it, just in case any of you want to try it out next week. I think I love it so much because it was a rare treat that we only had at Thanksgiving or when she made her famous “Chicken Stuff”. Another amazing recipe I will have to share at some point 🙂 So from an email from my mom, here is her famous stuffing recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 small to medium onion
  • 1 piece of celery
  • 3-4 heaping teaspoons chicken bouillon ( I use a small spoon and granules. Watch what you buy)
  • 2 cups of milk (I don’t measure it, so not sure)
  • 1 big loaf of bread
  • Salt, pepper, garlic salt, celery salt, onion salt (maybe a 1/4 tsp each?)

Stacy’s Mom’s Suggestions and Preparation

  1. Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave. I use my grinder to slice the onion and celery. Put onion and celery in melted butter and microwave for 3-5 minutes. Just until they’re soft. Dissolve chicken bouillon in the butter mixture. Add milk. Microwave for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
  2. Toast bread. Tear into pieces in a large mixing bowl. Salt, pepper, celery salt, onion salt, and garlic salt to taste. You can probably use powder, but taste it and see if it needs more salt.
  3. Pour warm milk mixture over bread crumbs and mix. I add extra cold milk if needed. Taste it and add salt or other salts.
  4. Cook in a covered bowl for 30 minutes, then uncover and cook for 15 minutes. If you don’t have a  bowl with a cover, cover with aluminum foil.
  5. If you think you need a double batch, I would just make two batches instead of doubling and trying to make it all at once.
  6. If you cook the lizards and gizzards in water, put onion and celery in with it. Salt and pepper it and use that instead of all the milk.

Stacy’s Substitutions

As you read in, “Sub This for That“, we would use the following substitutes for the above recipe: Cabot grass-fed stick butter or avocado butter, almond milk, and bread with no high fructose corn syrup. You could try with wheat or gluten-free bread, but I am not sure how it would turn out. Although stuffing isn’t really how we normally eat sometimes you just have to have one of mom’s old recipes and enjoy it! If you are looking for a healthier option, here is a link. I am interested in trying the crockpot stuffing. Maybe next year!

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

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In How We Move

21-15-9 twice

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Happy Wednesday! In this workout, you will do 21-15-9 Reps of:

  • Jumping Jacks
  • Rows (if you do one arm, do reps for each arm)
  • Abs of your choice

Take a small break

Then 21-15-9 Reps of:

  • Bicep Curls (each arm)
  • Burpees

So you will do 21 jumping jacks, 21 rows (each arm), 21 abs, then 15 jumping jacks, 15 rows, 15 abs, then 9 jumping jacks, 9 rows, 9 abs. Small break. 21 bicep curls (each arm), 21 burpees, 15 curls, 15 burpees, 9 curls, 9 burpees. Don’t forget to warm-up and Enjoy!

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counter top with fruit and jars on a shelf
In Fitness and Nutrition

Sub This for That

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As you read in “Eat Better and Move Better“, we try to maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating whole foods and working out. We try to stick to it about 90% of the time. Yes, we still drink alcohol. Yes, we still go out to eat. Yes, we still have high energy carbs outside of our “window”. But most of the time, we try to be mindful of how and what we are eating. We have found that we can easily sub this item for that item, and we eat foods that are lower in calories and higher in nutritional value.

I wanted to do a post to explain a few things you can do in your kitchen to help yourself if you want to start a nutrition journey. These simple replacements are better for you and will save you some calories. So try to sub this for that and see how you feel!

It may take some time to get used to the new products, but once your palate is used to it, you won’t even notice the difference.

Please note, I am not a nutritionist. These are some things we have learned over the years that work for us so I wanted to share our knowledge.

  1. If it’s in the house, you are going to eat it.
  2. Moderation is key.
  3. You can still eat relatively healthy when you go out to eat (if you make good choices)
  4. Bad food decisions are usually made when you are drinking 🙂
  5. Food prepping helps tremendously.

First of all, you should go through your pantry and refrigerator and get rid of any food that may tempt you -aka that delicious bag of potato chips 🙂 Then plan out your meals for the week for each day. Six small meals a day is ideal. Make your grocery list. Shop and meal prep! If you don’t buy bad foods then you cannot eat bad foods.  It all starts at the grocery store. Stay on the outskirts of the store where the fresh food is. Below are a few simple substitutions you can make.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Sub this…… for that

  • liquid protein flavors for coffee cream/sugar or creamer (We like Quest Salted Caramel or Vanilla) (Premier Protein has some amazing flavors as well)
  • avocado oil butter for butter
  • unsalted grass-fed stick butter for salted margarine (Cabot)
  • unsweetened almond, coconut, or cashew milk for cow milk
  • Quest protein bars for other snack bars
  • coconut sugar for white sugar and sugar substitutes such as Sweet and Low
  • coconut or almond flour for white flour
  •  all-natural peanut, almond, or cashew butter for peanut butter
  • cage-free, organic brown eggs for eggs (if you can get them straight from a farm or chicken even better)
  • whole wheat instead of white bread
  • Ezekiel muffins/bread is even better (made with sprouted wheat)
  • water, tea, coffee, green tea instead of soda/pop/Coke
  • extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil for butter or margarine for cooking
  • dressings made with olive or avocado oil instead of creamy salad dressings (use sparingly)
  • homemade balsamic even better
  • avocado oil mayonnaise instead of Miracle Whip or mayo
  • Bragg’s liquid aminos for soy sauce
  • cauliflower rice for rice
  • quinoa for rice or noodles
  • protein, veggie, or edamame noodles for white noodles
  • vegan cheese for cheese or make your own cheese
  • homemade Vegan Cheddar Cheese
  • homemade Mozzarella
  • low-fat cottage cheese for regular cottage cheese (2-4%)
  • plain non-fat Greek yogurt (sweeten with honey and a flavored protein powder) for flavored yogurt
  • cage-free egg whites for eggs beaters
  • plant-based wraps or wheat wraps for flour tortillas
  • mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes
  • sweet potatoes for white potatoes
  • dark chocolate (70% cacao or higher) for milk chocolate (a small piece a day is okay)
  • kettle-cooked potato chips for chips if you just can’t resist
  • do not buy and please throw away any products with high fructose corn syrup in them, here’s why

I hope this helps. There is always a good, better, or best option. For example, fries are an option. Choosing sweet potato fries would be better. Subbing a side salad or a vegetable such as broccoli is best. So try to sub this for that and see how it goes. Let us know if you have found any other substitutes that you enjoy.

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portabella stuffed mushroom
In What We Eat

Stuffed Mushrooms

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Some people may not like mushrooms but if you do, give these portabella stuffed mushrooms a try! I wasn’t exactly sure what to stuff them with, but they turned out delicious! This site has a ton of ideas that look amazing!

Ingredients

  • 3 portabella mushrooms
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion diced
  • a serving of tofu cut into cubes
  • sprinkle with vegan cheese
  • half an avocado
  • sliced tomatoes
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Stacy’s Suggestions and Preparation

  1. Put olive oil and vinegar in a bowl.
  2. Dip portabellas into the mixture and flip over.
  3. Put mushrooms in the frying pan. Cook on medium heat.
  4. Flip after 5 minutes or so and keep flipping until soft.
  5. Cut up onion, tofu, and vegan cheese into bite-sized pieces.
  6. Spray another pan with olive oil spray.
  7. Pay fry tofu and onions. Add in cheese towards the end.
  8. Slice tomatoes and avocado.
  9. Put tomato and avocado on the side of your plate. You can add a piece of lettuce if you like.
  10. Put mushroom upside down on a plate.
  11. Fill mushroom with the filling of tofu, onions, and cheese.
  12. Cut it up, mix it all together and enjoy!!
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