My Guilty Pleasure

I'm sure you all have figured out that I love food.  And I simply refuse to give up my favorites, even though I sometimes have to get really creative to make them healthy.  :)  Last night I had one of my all-time most favorite foods ever:  'mato sammich.  For those of you that don't like tomatoes: You are missing out on one of my guilty pleasures.  I did take pictures, (but didn't remember til I was almost half way through the sandwich), and I have a recipe for you, too.  So, here ya go!  Happy Foodie Linky Party!

'Mato Sammich

2 slices whole wheat bread (I use Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread)

1 roma tomato (firm, red, and hearty)

1 tablespoon mayonnaise (I use Kraft's Olive Oil Mayo)

Directions:

1. Toast the bread.  Slice tomato.

2. Spread mayo on both slices of bread.

3. Put tomato slices on bread.

I used to put cheese on the sammich.  Cheddar is pretty delish!

I know... super difficult.  :)  But, I thoroughly enjoyed every single bite of my 'mato sammich!

Don't forget to link up!

The Serenity Prayer - Revised

"God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me."

I heard this tonight on a training call, and it fell right in line with everything I've been working on for myself.

This week I:
Slept in
Made and ate delicious food
Repainted my nails
Went shopping
Watched movies
Had great conversations with old friends
Met new friends

   Don't forget to share how you're taking care of yourself!
Happy Selfish Respect Tuesday!

Blog Friends :)

I LOVE my blog friends!  Y'all are the BEST!  Thanks for hanging out with me every week!

Salsa with a Twist!

When I was in Culinary school, I had a restaurant class.  We had a teaching kitchen and the restaurant was open for lunch every Tuesday and Wednesday.  Each week we had different food from somewhere in the world.  One week for our start, the class decided to make fresh chips and salsa, and it was SO GOOD!  I don't remember everything we put in it, but I make fresh salsa all the time, so now it's time to share!

Fresh Salsa

Mango

Bell Peppers (any color)

Onion

Garlic

Tomatoes

Cilantro

Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

Black Pepper and Salt

Use as much or as little of each ingredient as you want. Dice the ingredients, gently stir together.

It's better if you let it sit in the refrigerator overnight so all the flavors come together. 

No pictures today.  Bummer when I write the post and can't find the picture...  Guess that means I need to make more this afternoon!

Selfish Respect Tuesday!!

Last week I got an excellent suggestion!  It was suggested that I make my Selfish Respect post a permanent Linky Party!  I have to admit, the thought had not even crossed my mind when I wrote it, but I l-o-v-e the idea!  I know my blog is what falls behind when I get really busy, but I am working on scheduling my time better, so I have blog time on the calendar. :)

The past couple weeks I have made sure to take time to take care of myself.    The Herbalife products I am on have made my hair and nails grow SO fast!  My hair has grown 4 inches since April, (which for me is ridiculously fast...), and my nails are practically as hard as acrylics.  So, I make sure to keep my nails buffed and polished.  Today they are hot pink - 80's Jane Fonda exercise video hot pink!  I have also been working on my Personal Development every day.  I truly love my time to myself, when no one interrupts me or gives me their opinion.  I have a new book that I am reading and I am so fascinated by it!  Here is a quote from what I read last night:

"Human beings... have been given the dignity of choice.  They can choose to be all, or they can choose to be less.  Why not stretch up to the full measure of the challenge and see all you can do?" - Twelve Pillars, Jim Rohn & Chris Widener

The Most Compounded Difficulty

"Because, you know information can change your life. What you don't know will hurt you. What you don't know will leave you without an idea that can change your life. What you don't know will harm your health. What you don't know will jeopardize your financial security. So, it's important to know.  Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is poverty. Ignorance is tragedy. Ignorance is the most compounded difficulty. But, if you know, and especially if you are privy to the truth, as the old prophet said, 'The truth will set you free'. The truth gives you freedom to make decisions. The truth helps you to decide a course of life and follow it and see if you can make the best of it." - Jim Rohn

Pampered... Now Back to Work!

This weekend was incredible!  We had a blast with all the spa parties, manicures, pedicures, food... Even the puppy was tired!

Peggy, Holly, and Sarah

Katelyn and Cindy

Banana Muffins

End of the Spa Party

Before the Manicure

After the Manicure - Thanks, Tionna!

Before the Pedicure

After the Pedicure - I did it MYSELF!

Sunset

After Playing Fetch - Tired Puppy!

After Playing Fetch - OWIE!  This is what happens when your toes connect with the puppy's jaw... Don't worry - puppy and Jo are both okay.  :)

Enchiladas for Dinner

Lightning Storm - I couldn't get the lightning...

Banana Bars

Banana Bars - After the chocolate melted

Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup Splenda

1 egg

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 package sugar free cheesecake pudding

3 bananas, mashed

1/2 bag sugar free chocolate chips (I used Hershey's)

Directions:

1. Cream butter and Splenda.  Add egg and stir.

2. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and pudding.  Mix together.

3. Add bananas and mix til combined.

4. Spread into a buttered pan.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

6. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  When melted, spread across bars.

This recipe is a Cheffie Jo original. I made it up last night.  They tasted pretty good, too, so I'm pretty proud of that!  :)

Don't forget to link your weekend to Thursday's Selfish Respect post!  I want to see how pampered everyone was!

Ah, Pizza!

Thursday night is Pizza night.  My friend and I make pizza just about every week, and every time we make it, it's different.  We switch back and forth between different dough and sauce recipes, so instead of a recipe today, I'm going to post pictures and some of our favorite ingredients.

Ingredients:

Ground Turkey

Ham

Cheese

Olives

Green, Red, Orange, Yellow Bell Peppers

Onions

Garlic

Mushrooms
Eggs

Sometimes we make one BIG pizza and share...

With eggs on top, of course!

But sometimes we make our own...

So everyone can have what they want!

Selfish Respect

One of the things I do as a Personal Wellness Coach is work on myself through personal development.  As I've done this, I've become more aware of myself, my surroundings, and the people I interact with.  Every single choice we make has a consequence.  A couple weeks ago I had this conversation with someone and I was told I live my life in fear because there are certain things I won't do.  I have to disagree.  It isn't that I live in fear, it's that I do think about the consequences.  The other person said it's better to have the fun now and deal with the consequence later.  I've thought about this conversation a lot the last couple weeks and here is what I have to say: hospitals, cemeteries, and jails are full of people who 'had fun now' and dealt with the consequences later.  We get to make the decision, but do not get to choose the consequence.

This isn't meant to be a 'doomsday' post.  Inside of my thoughts on the conversation, I realized decisions and consequences have a lot to do with respect: respect for self, others, the earth, the universe.  Because our decisions directly affect everything around us, we have to respect everything around us to truly be in harmony.  This process starts with self and is tied to just how 'selfish' we are with our own health, thoughts, actions, etc.  Before I starting using Herbalife's products, I was selfish in the wrong direction. I blamed others for my decisions and situations.  When I started to get healthy again, it became easier to take responsibility for myself and my decisions.  Now, I am very selfish with my health.  I take care of myself first.


The challenge this weekend is to take time for yourself.  Pamper yourself, sleep in, make yourself a healthy and balanced meal; whatever you need to truly feel good!  My commitment to all of you this weekend is that I will also put myself first, but then I will share that with others.  I will document the weekend and share, and I encourage everyone to do the same!  I want to see pictures!  Link up to this post when you do so we can all inspire others to do the same!

Bring on the FUN!

Here are pictures and recipes from the weekend.  We all had so much fun!

Pasta Salad: 

Whole Wheat Egg Noodles

Cilantro

Garlic

Onion

Hard Boiled Egg

Tomatoes

Cheddar Cheese

Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette

I admit, I didn't measure anything, (as usual...), so I don't have amounts, but it is so easy to make!  If anyone would like me to figure out exact amounts, I'd be happy to make it again.  Hehe!!  :)

Getting the Spa Party set up

The night sky after the rain storm!  SO beautiful!

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

2 cups whole wheat flour (any flour could be used)

2 cups Splenda

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk, soy milk, or Herbalife Vanilla Protein Drink Mix

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

All Natural Peanut Butter

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, Splenda, cocoa powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt together. 

2. Add milk, butter and vanilla.  Mix til combined.

3. Add eggs and mix til combined.

4. Mixture will be VERY thick!  For cupcakes, makes 6 regular and about 11 minis.

5. For regular cupcakes, place about a tablespoon cake mix in bottom of lined cup.  Place about 1 teaspoon peanut butter on top.  Cover with enough cake batter to fill cup a little over half way.

6. For minis, do the same, just reduce the amounts.

7. Bake regular cupcakes in a 350 degree over for 12-15 minutes and minis for 7-8 minutes.

8. Cool completely.  Can be eaten without topping, (which I prefer), or can be topped with anything desired

In the pictures, the cupcakes are topped with fat free cream cheese and Cool Whip, with cocoa powder dusted on top.  Not my favorites, but it wasn't my birthday.  :)

Best Weekend... Ever!

This last week was absolutely crazy!  My blog posts slacked last week, (sorry to all my Linky friends!), but I had an absolute blast keeping so busy!

My weekend was full of:

• Spa Facials
• Protein packed sugar free banana muffins
• Protein packed sugar free, lactose free chocolate/peanut butter cake
• Friends
• The BEST stuffed chicken ever
• A relaxing, thoroughly enjoyable drive to the boonies

Life is so good!  Pictures and recipes to come!