Fit For Fall
I have been feeling the FULL FORCE of the end of Summer this past week. Nothing like a new schedule, long days, lots of crying (yes, me included), and extra stress to knock you off your A-game.
This first week was rough, and I admit my normally simple healthy eating and exercise schedule has felt the brunt of this upheaval.
So I’m putting a stop to the stress, and a START to the YES.
Yes to simple healthy routines.
Yes to better sleep.
Yes to a stronger mindset.
Yes to superfoods.
Yes to jumping ALL IN!
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you ready to START new habits and routines? Are you ready for more energy, better sleep, and a health plan that is SIMPLE?
NOW IS YOUR TIME. Don’t wait for after the holidays to get your health in order. Let’s set up those habits and routines now. Let’s get back to health and get FIT FOR FALL!!
I’m so excited to see all the lives transformed in the next 30, 60, 90 days!!! Will yours be one of them?
For more information about our Fit For Fall Challenge, or to join please email us @ weisserwomen@growingweisser.com or email Rachel directly at rachelweisser@yahoo.com
Cleansing from the Inside Out
We have spent quite a bit of time this past year learning about wellness, clean eating and super nutrition. One component of our wellness experience has been learning about cleansing. This summer I have been learning about spiritual and emotional wellness and the process of cleansing from the inside out. The principles I have been learning start with accepting who I am and emptying out my misconceptions, selfish tendencies and pride. The inside out cleaning process for me begins with reflection, confession, includes prayer and meditation. Trials that come my way can be tools used by the hand of God to strengthen me if I am willing to refrain from asking why and ask what now. When we turn our pain over to God he can redeem it and turn it into something good for our character development.
I must be willing to take a long hard look at my life, my attitudes, my thoughts and the ways I respond to the circumstances and relationships in my life. When I see areas that need to be cleaned up, thoughts and actions that need to be changed, I confess my shortcomings and where I miss the mark. I ask for forgiveness and know that I am truly forgiven and will have access to the Holy Spirit power I need to continue my inside out cleaning. Only then am I able to be filled with the truths and tenements of my faith that motivate me and empower me to change. When I am filled, I can begin to pour out….serve, love beyond measure, put other’s needs before my own and be available to follow where God may lead me. This is not a check list or a fail safe formula but for me it is a reminder to live moment by moment …
Greek High Protein Salad
Bethany and Mike have been blessed to receive many delicious meals since baby Garrett was born a few weeks ago. This was one of their favorites. Last week, Bethany and I tried to recreate the recipe, making a few adjustments to increase the protein and we added some fresh basil. The original recipe that we adapted was from www.thelemonbowl.com- Brown Rice Greek Salad. We substituted quinoa for the brown rice and added seasoned browned ground turkey to increase the protein.
Ingredients
1 ½ cup quinoa
3 cups water
1 ½ pounds ground turkey
2 cloves garlic smashed
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons greek seasoning
2 cucumbers peeled and chopped
2 can garbanzo beans
1 cup sliced scallions
1 or 2 large yellow or orange pepper chopped
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup kalamata olives
2 cups cherry tomatoes
10 basil leaves chopped fine
¼ cup chopped mint
Dressing
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons juiced
zest of 2 lemons
2 Tablespoons oregano
2 Tablespoons chopped mint
4 cloves garlic
Cook quinoa in water. Bring to a boil and then turn to simmer and simmer for 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Allow to cool. Brown ground turkey with smashed garlic, garlic salt, oregano and greek seasoning. While quinoa is cooking and ground turkey is browning, cut the cucumbers, slice scallions, chop the pepper, chop basil and mint and slice cherry tomatoes in half. Make dressing by combining all ingredients and set aside. When quinoa is cooled, add cucumbers, peppers, scallions, cherry tomatoes, feta, olives, basil and mint. Stir in dressing. Add cooled browned ground beef and stir until dressing is mixed throughout. Refrigerate and serve with pita bread and hummus.
Decisions and Trust
This week I sent my first baby to school. I cannot believe this day has come already! With lots of praying and trust (and lots of moments of doubt) we started her at our amazing local public school. She has been so excited to go to school and I know this will be an amazing time of change and challenge for her.
We debated for a long time what to do – homeschool, charter, public? As a credentialed teacher I really wanted to homeschool. I loved the idea of designing our own learning schedule and days and thought of all the fun we would have. (Of course I tried not to think too hard about all the work I would have to do!) She was very adamant that she wanted to go to school. I really loved one of our local charters, but would have to drive for drop off and pick up every day. I decided it would be best for our family this year to have the option to walk her to school and walk to pick her up.
I think it is that way with most things. We have to make a decision that is best for our family and trust in that choice. Although I still have moments of doubt, there have been so many reassurances that this is God’s plan. A friend’s daughter is in Ellie’s class, which has meant a built-in instant friend! We’ve walked to and from school together and it has been great to have someone to talk to about all my fears and hesitations and know someone else went through the exact same thing! Ellie has an amazing teacher– ok I’m sure EVERYONE thinks their teacher is the best, but it was really cool to have a parent speak up about …
Read MorePlum Chutney
Chutney is a sauce in the cuisines of India that can vary from a tomato relish to a ground peanut garnish or a yoghurt, cucumber and mint dip. Chutney that I made with my mom when I was growing up was usually made of a tart fruit such as apples, apricots, mangos or plums. Our homemade recipe differed a bit from the typical Indian chutney recipe. As the Americanized version of chutney was developed, sugar and vinegar were added to the recipe to keep the sweet and sour flavor but to give a longer shelf life so that fall fruit could be preserved for use throughout the year (as are jams, jellies and pickles). Indian chutney uses mustard oil as a pickling agent, but Anglo-Indian style chutney use cider vinegar which produces a milder product.
Ingredients
5 cups cut up plums (you can use apricots, mangos or apples)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
¾ cup vinegar
¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons mustard seed
2-3 big cloves garlic
¼ cup thinly sliced yellow onion
½ cup chopped candied ginger
1 cup white raisins
Mix the sugars and vinegar in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the fruit and all the spices, garlic, onions, ginger and raisins. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently so chutney will not stick as it cooks and thickens. This step may take 1 to 1 ½ hours depending on how juicy your fruit is. When thickened, pour chutney into jelly jars that have been sterilized and seal according to canning directions.
I pour the hot chutney into the 1 cup jars and seal with hot tops. I tighten the tops and turn the jars upside down for 30 minutes. When you flip them right …
Colorful Summer Salad
Today is another beautiful summer day and I am out tending my vegetable garden. In comes another bowl of tomatoes and I decided I wanted to try a summer salad recipe that would be a fun side dish to accompany any BBQ meat or could be eaten as your main meal. I know many of you have made Cowboy Caviar and I love that recipe but my hubby does not like avocado. He does LOVE salsa though so I made this colorful summer salad based on our homemade salsa recipe with a few variations.
Ingredients
8 medium tomatoes (I used 4 different types of heirloom tomatoes)
1 large red onion
2 ears of corn
1 large orange pepper
2 bunches cilantro (1-2 cups)
1 hot jalapeño pepper
1 mild jalapeño pepper
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
½ cup red wine vinegar
⅓ cup olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic smashed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sesoned pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon Pilarcita’s hot and spicy Mexican spice blend (this blend has chili peppers, salt, garlic, onion, lemon and orange peel as it’s base)
Chop the tomatoes, onion, orange pepper and mix in a bowl. Dice the jalapeño peppers and chop the cilantro fine and add to the bowl. Add the drained and rinsed black beans and stir salad. In a small bowl, mix oil, vinegar, garlic and spices. Mix well and pour over the vegetables. Stir well and refrigerate for an hour or so before serving. This is a great salad to take to a potluck BBQ because it make a large bowlful of a beautiful colorful summer salad. Will store for 4-5 days in a tupperware container. If you want to serve it for your main meal, you can put on a bed of greens and serve …
Read MoreDo Something Today
Back to School season is coming (too early!!) and that is a great time to start great habits!
One area most of us can always improve is our ACTION. Acting on things that need to be done and stop procrastinating.
I admit there are SO many things I save for “tomorrow” or “when I feel like it.” But those things pile up and weigh you down and that isn’t a good feeling. Doesn’t it feel so much better to accomplish things?!
So here’s a thought – Do ONE thing every day to make tomorrow better. Eat a healthy meal, get to bed on time, fold that laundry, clean that spot in the fridge that has been bugging you. You don’t have to do EVERYTHING, but even just one little thing that you accomplish will make for a better tomorrow.
You know what is even better? Consistently doing those little things – eating healthy, exercising, getting enough sleep, cleaning, preparing and packing your own food to save money – will start to have a BIG impact on your life.
And it all starts with ONE thing.
What have you been procrastinating about? What is one thing you can do today for a better tomorrow?
…
Baby Garrett and his Adventure Nursery
Our little bundle of joy arrived Thursday July 21, 2016 at 6:23am. It has been quite a whirlwind the past couple weeks but we are so blessed that he came early so we could spend even more time with him. We are loving every minute of it.
Decorating new rooms can be fun! I got the blessing of decorating my new baby boy’s room the last couple months and I loved how it turned out.
How to decorate a nursery
- Choose a theme or color combo.
- Buy the main pieces of furniture such as crib or changing table to set the stage
- Prioritize what you would like to buy, you probably won’t be able to buy everything exactly as you want. (furniture, sheets, decorations, glider, bookshelf, shelves, storage, dresser, closet storage, hamper, trashcan)
- Look for ideas on Pinterest
- Think of how you want to store things
- Ask a lady that is already a mom to come over to help think through what should go where
- Don’t be too set on exacts. Things may change. When your baby is here, things may need to be rearranged or in different spots.
- Register for something fun that you may not buy yourself
- Measure and know dimensions of things you are looking for
- Think through what you can make or craft if anything
- Start shopping! Or start looking on sale facebook groups!
Here’s how mine turned out
Lanterns from home depot. Homemade garland and wood planks.
Shelf from world market. Bins and wall decor from Target
Height ruler from Deeliteful Designs. Bins from Marshalls, Target, Homegoods
Teepee from Target
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Read MoreGogo Grandmother “Joseph Project” Update
I have had the privilege of being on the Board of the Gogo Grandmothers/SAFE ministry in Malawi, Africa for the past year. It has been one of the most rewarding organizations I have been involved in my whole life because it allows me to serve the poor and needy, work with fabulous people in ministry and be a prayer warrior for people from the “warm heart of Africa”. I wrote a comprehensive post months ago with beautiful pictures that show the faces of our Gogos. Click here to read that article. You can follow what we are doing on our Facebook page.
The gogos (grandparents) in Malawi that Gogo Grandmothers in America sponsor are subsistence farmers — they must grow what they eat for the entire year in one growing season. Their main crop and food each day is maize (corn) that is dried, mixed with water and made into a bland patty called “nsima” (meaning the thing that fills the stomach).
A cyclone in January 2016 washed away some of their garden plots while others were ruined by the drought that followed. The harvests in some areas were 75% less than normal. Hunger tapped at their doors in the following months until their next harvest which was in May 2016. Orphans and children in the Gogos’ care and whole village communities were severely impacted by this lack of maize.
We initiated a campaign we called “The Joseph Project”! It is a Biblical reference to the time when God used Joseph in Egypt to store grain for the famine that was coming. Our staff worked with village leaders to assess those most in need in our sponsored communities. We bought bags of maize in Malawi to store, so that when the hunger became the most severe, we would have enough …
Read MoreRatatouille-Fresh from the Garden
Do you have a garden full of veggies? My garden is overflowing with an abundance of veggies so this recipe is a wonderful way to utilize them. Here is a delicious dish to prepare and serve in a variety of ways…Most often this is our side dish served with BBQ skewers of chicken or beef, but I sometimes will add white beans or grate some parmesan cheese over the top and serve it as our main dish. You can also eat it cold stuffed in pita bread with hummus…..wrapped in a warm tortilla or naan bread with arugula and goat cheese…or serve cold on a bed of greens with toasted pine nuts and a scoop of quinoa. Enjoy this delicious recipe for a summer favorite.
Ratatouille is a stewed vegetable dish from the French Provencal traditional menu, originating in Nice.The French word touiller means to toss around. In most recipes, the key ingredients are the same but the process of cooking the dish vary between each chef’s preference. Some sauté all the vegetables together and simmer on the stove top, some sauté the vegetables separately and layer and bake. Our family favorite (recipe below) is as delicious as any I ever tasted when traveling in France and is the easiest recipe of them all!! Ratatouille was a family favorite of ours way before the Pixar animated “RATATOUILLE” movie was released in 2007. The movie brought awareness to the delicious French dish but many were put off by the lengthy steps to prepare the recipe. You no longer need to be intimidated because you can try our family favorite Ratatouille and wow all your friends. Most often this is our side dish served with BBQ skewers of chicken or beef, but I sometimes will add white beans or grate some …
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