Category Archives: Interesting Tidbits

1 Minute Blueberry Recipes

During blueberry season each summer, my family eats about a pound of berries a day. I’d like to share a couple of my favorite blueberry recipes with you. They can be prepared in under a minute, are chock full of antioxidants, and have no added sugar or preservatives. As a bonus feature, if you try all three recipes in the next 24 hours, you get a free gentle colon cleanse.

2014 July 2 163Two Fisted Blueberries

1. Wash blueberries.

2. Grab two fistfuls of blueberries (don’t squeeze too hard unless your fists are hovering over toast and you’re looking to make Instant Jam).

3. Empty your fists into your mouth at a non-choking rate of speed and say “Mmm-mm-mm-mm-mmmmm”.

 

2014 July 2 216Blueberry Cereal

1. Fill bowl with blueberries. (Sometimes I add some Cheerios.)

2. Add milk and eat with a spoon.

3. When your children ask you what you’re eating, say “Blue Sugar Bombs, but you can’t have any”.

 

2014 July 2 168Two Fisted To Go Cup

1. Fill plastic cup with blueberries.

2. Carry it around with you and periodically shake berries into your mouth. This is great for car rides. Nothing draws stares at a red light like chewing your beverage.

 

“Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.” Genesis 1:11

And I’m so glad He did!

Strengthen Your Core in the Kitchen

core-is-cookinWomen spend a lot of time in the kitchen. If we did core exercises every time we entered the kitchen, we’d be able to use our iron hard abs to tenderize meat. Whether you’re deciding what to cook for dinner, waiting for water to boil, or unloading groceries, a minute or two of core exercises here and there add up to better fitting pants.

Women’s Health has a good (and short) video showing four ab exercises we can do standing up. Replace those dumbbells with cans of beans, gallons of milk, or sacks of flour, and we’ll be cookin’ in the kitchen in more ways than one. 

March Ab-ness has begun, but it’s not too late to join in! Pick a goal and start today!

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10

Help, They’re Taking my Excuses

The BBC is out to get me. Out to get me healthy, that is. They keep publishing news about studies that show there is no wrong way to exercise. First researchers set the exercise bar at 150 minutes per week. That’s two and a half hours, which sounds like a lot, but if you break it up into 30 minutes a day, five days a week, it becomes very doable.

Unless…

bbc-vacuumExcuse #1: I can’t make it to the gym five days a week this week because my kid is sick, my other kid has a dentist appointment, it’s snowing, my car’s in the shop, there’s a Downton Abbey marathon on TV, my sneakers don’t match my only clean t-shirt, and no one wants to sweat on a Friday. May as well give up.

BBC: Your exercise doesn’t have to be done in a gym and doesn’t have to be 30 minutes in a row. Every little bit of exercise adds up, so five minutes of walking because you parked at the back of the parking lot, or ten minutes vacuuming the house, or 7 minutes pulling weeds in the garden, or 20 minutes shoveling snow all add up. No excuses.

Unless…

bbc-bikeExcuse #2: I have a sedentary job and a busy schedule driving here and there and the only time I can do any real exercising is on the weekends. But going for a hike or playing tennis or taking a long bike ride doesn’t count, right? I mean, if most of my exercise is all in one day, it doesn’t do any good, does it?

BBC: Actually, it does; it does a lot of good. It does almost as much good as spreading the exercise out over five days. Again, moving your body for 150 minutes per week is what’s important, not how those minutes are grouped together.

So…

There’s no wrong way to exercise? Every little bit counts and every a lot bit counts and all of it adds up to reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and type two diabetes, not to mention looking and feeling fantastic?

BBC: Yes.

Then I’d better get moving. No excuses. BBC, can you please publish an article on how eating chocolate burns fat?

BBC: When a scientific study proves it, sure.

Sticking with the non-fiction, then, are you? Fair enough.

 

“For in him we live and move and have our being.”  Acts 17:28a

 

Weekend exercise alone ‘has significant health benefits’ http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38560616

Could Vacuuming Save the Nation? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3670523.stm

Merry Christmas! Give me a gift, please

img_4134Merry Christmas!

I am grateful for every one of you who reads this blog and I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14

 

Will you consider giving me a gift? If you’ve read my book, will you leave a review for it on Amazon or Goodreads? If you already have, THANK YOU. I’ve been tickled and blessed by the reviews I’ve received so far. Reviews are how strangers decide whether or not a book is worth reading. If you liked my book, please tell the world!

 

 

Post Halloween Candy Survival Guide

halloween-candy-2-590x421Halloween night after the kids are in bed, my husband and I have a naughty ritual: we claim our “Parent Tax” from the kids’ candy bags – preferred payment is in chocolate – and we gorge ourselves on candy bars we haven’t tasted since last Halloween. Candy is a rarity in our house for the simple reason that if we have it, I eat it and if we don’t, I don’t. To stay on track with my health and weight loss goals, I’ve created a Post Halloween Candy Survival Guide for my benefit and, hopefully, yours.

1. Donate extra candy to charity.

opperation-christmas-childSamaritan’s Purse runs Operation Christmas Child where volunteers pack shoe boxes with toys, hygiene items, clothes, and/or school supplies and give them away to poor children around the world, many of whom have never received a Christmas gift before.  The collection week for this enterprise is, conveniently, the second week of November – ie. AFTER Halloween.  If you don’t want your family to eat that entire bucket full of sweets, take the extra goodies to one of the drop off locations.  They’ll be happy to portion the candy into little baggies to add to the shoe boxes.  (Note: they do not accept chocolate; it tends to melt on the way to the Equator.)

halloween-candy-buybackAnother option is Halloween Candy Buy Back. Participating dentists buy candy back from kids for $1.00 a pound. The candy is donated to Soldier’s Angels and shipped overseas in care packages (complete with toothbrushes) to our troops overseas. Their website has a search feature to find a participating dentist near you.

2. Hide under the bed between meals.  Or in a closet.  For the month of November.  Maybe December too.

3. Fill a bowl.  Every time you run errands, fill one pocket with candy.  Many offices have a bowl of candy on the front desk, but instead of taking a piece, leave a handful.  Secret Agent 00Sweet!

4. Give a handful to the child of the unfriendly mom who made a snide comment about your bathrobe at the bus stop.  Then repent, forgive, and…oh, come on, people, it’s a joke, lighten up!  It would be funny, though….

2015-headshots-white-clay-creek-0445. Make yourself a rule and stick to it.  For example, you can eat a snack sized Twix only after you’ve done ten push-ups and thirty sit-ups and jogged up and down the stairs twice.  Whatever balances you out calorie-wise so that your net intake is zero.

6. Human Piñata.  Fill all of your pockets with candy and go to a play date with your children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews.  Be the first ones to leave and as you walk past the children on the way to the door, “spill” the candy.  If you want to make a little show of it, put headphones in your ears and groove to the music; the extra shaking makes it more believable when Starbursts and Milk Duds leap from your jacket pocket.  Just be careful not to leave the room until you’re positive that your pockets are empty; you don’t want any unsupervised children following you home.

7. spiderman-party-3Freeze it/Hide it. Chocolate keeps for a nice long time in the freezer and if you hide it in the back or in a freezer in the garage, you’ll probably forget it’s there. When you do remember, the frozen solid nature of the treat slows down how many you can consume before you come to your senses. For non-chocolate candy, hide it somewhere you don’t go often, like with the dusting supplies or filed with the income tax papers. When a birthday rolls around and it’s your turn to fill a piñata or party favor bags, pull out your hidden stash and you’re ready to go!

 

 “For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.”

Psalm 149:4-5 NIV

 

Images courtesy of: Real Nutrition NYC (bowl), http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/search-results.html (truck full of candy), https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/ (shoe boxes) Reading Confetti (Spiderman piñata) 

Pumpkin Haiku

img_3357Edible pumpkin

orange gourd of fall it is food

not only décor.

 

Driving down the street

passing homes with pumpkins on

front steps: I’m hungry.

 

Autumn chill pumpkins

not needed to decorate

will be tossed out soon.

 

Stoop gourds forgotten

by neighbors. Should I ask them?

Will they think I’m weird?

 

Bake, scoop, mash, puree,

boil, roast, freeze it for bread and

soup; yummy all year.

Is This Funny?

I need your opinion.

My book makes a great gift, but how to you gift a weight loss book without sending the wrong message?

My thought is to enclose a disclaimer card with the gift. My question to you is: Is it funny? Please leave a comment letting me know if it’s funny, not funny, useful, ridiculous, too wordy, not wordy enough, and so forth.

Front:

i-dont-think-youre-fat-card-front

Inside:

i-dont-think-youre-fat-card-inside-woman

(I can make one with a man inside for male gifters.)

 

Sexy Book Release

It's a book cartoonSex, Soup, and Two Fisted Eating: Hilarious Weight Loss for Wives officially releases today! Here’s the back cover:

Laugh until you love your body :
Are you ready to lose weight and get healthy, but you hate celery sticks and sweat? This book is for you. Sex, Soup, and Two Fisted Eating is:
*Fun: laugh-a-minute encouragement complete with cartoons, poetry, and enough cheesy puns to make you lactose intolerant.
*Sustainable: for long term results, look no further because the healthy habits you develop will help you stay fit until you die. (See how encouraging this is?)
*Flexible: easily adaptable to fit your needs and preferences like a need for chocolate and a preference to avoid spandex, for example.
*Educational: the science supporting healthy habits is explained in a memorable way, like how REM sleep is like a toilet.

 

Book coverThe ebook has color illustrations and recipe photos and is available at the following locations: Amazon, Barnes and Noble,  iTunes,  Kobo, Google Play .

The paperback has black and white illustrations and recipe photos and is available on Amazon.

Autographed books will be available through SquareUp soon. (The box of books on it’s way to me has been delayed; as soon as I have books in hand, I will start taking orders. I’ll let you know when that happens. If you live near me and want a book signed, I’d be happy to do so in person!)

 

Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered, shared with friends, and got excited with me! If you enjoy the book, please leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you go to find books.

“May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests.” Psalm 20:5

A Sexy, Soupy Book

Book coverSex, Soup, and Two Fisted Eating is now a book! The best of the blog in one volume complete with cartoons, poetry, and recipes. Pleasurable reading for fans of the blog, and a great way to share Sex Soup with friends and family who haven’t found their way here to the blog yet.

The book is called Sex, Soup, and Two Fisted Eating: Hilarious Weight Loss for Wives and is releasing August 9th! Ebooks are available for pre-order now (that means you order now and on August 9th it magically appears on your kindle, etc.) and the paperback will be available on the 9th.

The ebook has color illustrations and recipe photos and is available for pre-order at the following locations: Amazon, Barnes and Noble,  iTunes,  Kobo, Google Play .

The paperback has black and white illustrations and recipe photos. I’ll post on the 9th with links.

No pressure, folks, just letting you know so you can share my joy!

 

“Rejoice with those who rejoice…” Romans 12:15a (NIV)