Traveling on a Budget
We have had a lot to be thankful for in the last week, specifically for Ashkon getting two more residency interviews! However, these travel plans had to be made in less than a week which always increases prices of tickets, rental cars, etc. These expenses don’t have usual places in our budget which means we have to be creative when it comes to other travel expenses, like food to cut down on costs.
Today has been our travel day – 5 hour flight with a 2 1/2 hour drive all starting at 4am. It’s been a long day but we were prepared for it knowing that we wouldn’t have the time to stop for food and didn’t want to spend the extra money for it. So, even though it made for a heavier start to the trip, we packed a picnic for our day! Here’s how we survived our long travel day without spending money on food or drinks:
- Our PACK-iT is always a lifesaver when it comes to traveling! We brought veggies and cheese that have stayed cold for hours!
- We brought our own water bottles empty (Nalgene and Camelbak are our favorites) so we could refill them throughout the day.
- We packed our shaker bottles for our protein shakes to keep our nutrition goals even when out of our routine
- Lots of Snacks – fruit leathers, almonds, popcorn and more!
Happy traveling for for this Thanksgiving Season! See how much money you can save by doing a little extra planning 😄
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Read MoreHarvest Pumpkin Spice Granola
Preparing for family and friends coming for Thanksgiving week? Wondering how you can be proactive regarding the “other meals” you need to have prepared and organized? When you have family coming from out of town that will stay with you for a few days before and after the Thanksgiving day meal it is wonderful to have some nutritious and delicious food available for your guests. Harvest Pumpkin Spice Granola can be made a week or more ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. Put it out for breakfast with yogurt and fruit or fill ziplock bags for snack time when you go on a walk to the park.
Ingredients
8 cups oats
5 cups Grapenuts
1 cup oatbran
1/2 cup flaxseed or ground flax meal
1/2 cup wheatgerm
2 cups almonds
1 cup shelled pumpkin seeds
1 cup coconut
3 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons vanilla
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
Other add ins: chopped dried apricots, chopped dates, walnut pieces, sesame seeds
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients except dried fruit. In a small bowl combine melted coconut oil, honey, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla until well mixed. Pour liquid over dry and toss carefully until mixed thoroughly. Pour into two large roasting pans and bake in 325 degree oven for 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. When golden brown, remove from oven and add dried fruit. Stir and allow to cool before placing in airtight container. Will keep for 2-3 weeks if you don’t eat it all up while your company is visiting.
Celebrating 4
Today I am celebrating my first baby girl, Ellie. It is her 4th birthday this weekend.
One thing that she craves most of all is special alone time. Today, Ellie and I (along with our Disney best buds and their firstborns too!) are headed to Disneyland for an epic adventure.
Check out our instagram @growingweisser this weekend for some pictures!
Happy 4th Birthday, Ellie!
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Bean Dip
Bean Dip is a great thing to make for a party, to take to a friend’s house, or just to enjoy on your own. As I was making this bean dip, I was thinking about how important each layer is to create the overall taste. Yes, analyzing a bean dip. Seems a little weird. But when you are making food for other people to join in and fellowship together while eating, you really think about how much more there is to it. Food brings people together. And people have all sorts of stories, all sorts of characteristics, all sorts of “layers” that takes time and investment getting to know them. And each layer is important. It is a part of who they are, where they came from, or how they have grown. Taking out one layer or one part of the story may leave a piece missing.
So here’s the bean dip recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Put all ingredients in a 9×13 pan in this order (smooth out to make flat layers)
- 2 small/ 1 big can of refried beans
- Mix together 1/2 cup of mayo and 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 3.1 small can of diced green chiles
- 1/2 cup of salsa
- 2-3 cups of cheddar cheese
- Olives on top (optional)
Cook for 30 minutes and enjoy with a bag of tortilla chips!
- 2 small/ 1 big can of refried beans
- Mix together ½ cup of mayo and ½ cup of sour cream
- 1 small can of diced green chiles
- ½ cup of salsa
- 2-3 cups of cheddar cheese
- Olives on top (optional)
- Preheat oven to
Baby On The Mind
You may not think that it is baby season but to all the mamas who deliver in the Spring (what is often known as Baby Season), Baby is definitely on her mind. We just finished our Baby Registry and it was quite the feat. I love researching, but there are so many options when it comes to baby it was hard to find the “right” answer for a lot of items. I also love supporting small, creative businesses -their products can usually be found online and not always in stores so it was important for me to find an online registry that I really enjoyed using so I could add that creative touch to our registry. And, I did!
We are using BabyList Online Baby Registry – www.babyli.st – and here are a few reasons why I have liked it!
- Easy to Use — As overwhelming as registering for baby can be, a difficult online registry is the last thing that a mom-to-be needs! BabyList is clear and concise and has made it really fun to find some unique gifts to add to our registry.
- Link for Other Registries — I was able to link my Store Registries like Buy Buy Baby and Target onto my BabyList registry so that they are all in one place! Great for friends or family that may not be as tech savvy – all the info for your baby registry can be found from one link!
- Organized — I am able to organize every item that I add to my BabyList registry to make it easier for me to see what we have in each category as well as for the shopper
- Awesome App — BabyList has a great app so I can add things right from my phone! The app and website are
Hesed-Showing Lovingkindness this Thanksgiving
“HESED”-Showing Lovingkindness this Thanksgiving
“Hesed” is the Hebrew word for loving-kindness and steadfast love. Hesed is a word used in the Old Testament to describe God’s covenant love for His people. In the book of Exodus 34 God is described as merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (hesed) and faithfulness. Hesed is more than LOVE, it infers a loyalty that is not fleeting or transitory. Hesed is best described as we look at the character of the God of the bible. He is a covenant keeping God; faithful, merciful, full of grace, kindness and loyalty. His love is freely given, not out of obligation or duty, but because of His desire to express His character to His beloved children.
During this month of November, I like to keep my mind focused on all the people and circumstances in my life that I can be grateful and thankful for. My husband, daughters, SILs and grandchildren are at the top of my list of gratefulness. It is a joy to serve them and show them steadfast love. This Thanksgiving season, I want to show kindness to others outside of my family as well, not out of duty or obligation, not to gain anything in return. I want to be an ambassador of God’s hesed, a messenger of hope and joy.
I have posted a few times this past month about Gogo Grandmothers. (to see previous posts about Gogo Grandmothers and how to participate in Hesed love projects, click here). Working with this organization gives me an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to show God’s hesed love to orphans and widows.
My heart is connected with these beautiful people even though I have not met them. I have a sense of …
Build Your Own Burrito Bowls – When Dinner Delights
I easily get stuck in a rut with meals. I forget that my three little mouths to feed need a change. Sometimes I get it right, and this week I had success with Build Your Own Burrito Bowls!
You can use any of your favorite Mexican foods – just place each food item in its own bowl with a serving utensil and let your family choose what they want and scoop it themselves into their bowl.
Here are the foods we had for our burrito bowl feast.
Build Your Own Burrito Bowls
Brown Rice
Black Beans
Pinto Beans
Sauteed Kale
Chicken
Grated Cheese
Cucumbers
Sliced Red Pepper
Salsa
Avocado
Tortilla Chips
The girls LOVED serving their own food and ate so many things they never eat! We actually had to stop dinner because they wouldn’t stop eating!
It can be fun to get your family excited about meals again just by changing the presentation of your meals. Try finger food lunch in muffin tins, use cookie cutters to make shape with your foods, make muffin pizza or mexican taco cupcakes.
How do you get your family excited about meal time?
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Waiting…
Waiting… and waiting… and waiting… What are you waiting for? Maybe you aren’t waiting now, but you know what that feels like. Anxiety, stress, strife, unease, uncertainty, doubt. Whoever came up with the phrase the “waiting game” is crazy, because for me, games are fun and waiting is not. Yes I know, I know, you can learn alot through the process of waiting. It’s just HARD. I know waiting is supposed to be working on patience. I know that waiting creates opportunities to grow. I know waiting reminds us that we can’t have everything exactly how or when we want it. But sometimes it just flat out sucks. And the whole thing of “yes I am learning to be patient” can feel like it is covering up how I really feel. But here’s what I really want to say. “WAITING SUCKS! Haven’t I waited long enough? How long will it be?” Have you ever wanted to scream that too? I know I am not alone.
I have realized my sight is too nearsighted, my vision too narrow. I say I am trusting the Lord’s timing. I say I am okay in the process. But do my prayers really show that? Does my heart really feel that? I think moreso, I am waiting for what I want to happen. I want things how I want them… Is it okay to admit that? I am not giving the waiting to the Lord to let His will be done. I am not fully surrendering my will. Yes I am waiting, there is no way around that. But my heart is impatient and frustrated that my plan isn’t in place. There is not peace in my soul. There is no quiet in my heart. There is just discontent. Because my perspective is wrong. I …
Read MoreGluten Free Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere. I like to celebrate the fall season with PUMPKIN, (you may have figured that out by now). Each time I have brought a pumpkin treat to a women’s event this year, I am asked whether or not it is gluten free. So, I have experimented with a new recipe that I just received from a friend and adjusted a few things to make a delicious gluten free, high protein, low sugar alternative to the conventional Pumpkin Bread that I make this time of year. For quick access to a few of my other favorite pumpkin recipes click here for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies(Gluten Free version available in the same post) and Pumpkin Pie Cake. I just made this Pumpkin Pie Cake for my women’s bible study group and substituted a box of Trader Joes Gingerbread cake mix in place of the yellow cake mix and it was absolutely 100% tastier. So here is my newest pumpkin creation. Hope you like it! Enjoy!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
1 ½ cups almond meal flour (or your favorite gluten free flour blend)
1 ½ cups organic oats
3 Tablespoons flax meal
1 Tablespoon hemp seed
1 Tablespoon chia seed
¼ cup whey based protein powder (vanilla or pumpkin flavored)
¼ cup brown sugar or honey
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons almond milk
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce (I used homemade apple butter)
⅓ cup raisins
⅓ cup slivered almonds
Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together all wet ingredients in a small bowl. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until moistened throughout. Add nuts and raisins and stir just a …
Read MorePumpkin Workout
Let’s put those pumpkins to good use before we throw them away OR, get yourself to the store and buy one to do this fun workout by yourself or with a friend!
You will need a bench, a pumpkin, a jump rope (optional. you can jump rope with an imaginary rope), 4 cones (or an object to hold a space), water, and a towel
Warm-up 5 min
Circuit 1
- 20 Walking lunges holding pumpkin
- 20 Side shuffles R holding pumpkin
- 20 Reverse walking lunges holding pumpkin
- 20 Side shuffles L
Circuit 2
- 20 Alternating Toe Taps on pumpkin
- 15 Split Lunges per leg
- 15 Squat and Press
- Jump Rope 1 minute
- 30 Side step up with abduction and pumpkin press (15 Right, 15 L)
- 30 Alternating Step Ups
- 30 Tricep Dips
- Jump Rope 1 minute
Circuit 3 – Line Drills
Set up your 4 cones a good distance to do some line drills. You will want 4 cones set up in a line.
- Fast Feet (Holding your pumpkin, sprint to the first cone. Keep your body low and facing FORWARD as you run in a circle with fast feet around the cone to the R. Sprint to the second cone. Repeat the fast run this time to the L. Continue for cones 3 and 4. Sprint back to start.)
- 10 pumpkin burpees
- Line Sprint (Holding your pumpkin sprint to the first line. Back to start. Sprint to the second line. Back to start. Sprint to the third line. Back to start. Sprint to the fourth line. Back to start.)
- 10 pumpkin burpees
- Skip lunges (Holding your pumpkin forward lunge with the R leg. Skip the left leg up, forward, and down in to a lunge. Repeat this motion to the end of the line and back to start.)
- 10 pumpkin