My weekly Meal Plan

I find that I do so much better if I have a plan! On my Facebook page this week I posted my meal plan and a few of you said this might be helpful to you as a blog post with links to recipes. So, here goes!!

Breakfasts:
*(E)I made a yummy cinnamon apple baked pancake...recipe coming soon! (It was supposed to be a surprise!)
*(S)Goat Yogurt (I buy mine at Trader Joes), vanilla stevia and strawberries
*(E)Energizing Oat Pancakes I top with either all fruit jelly or berries. I usually make a tea with added protein to make sure it lasts me three hours.
*(S)London Fog tea and chicken or beef breakfast sausages (Walmart carries the beef and Trader Joes carries the chicken)
*(FP)Overnight oats - I follow this recipe: Oatmeal 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats 1/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk 1/4 cup of 0% fat Greek yogurt (I use goat yogurt) 1/2 tsp of vanilla 1 tbs of Truvia (or use another plan approved sweetener) 1 tsp of chia seeds 1 tbs of Vanilla Protein Powder top with berries(keep under 1/2 cup if you use blueberries) Make sure to let them sit 6 hours or overnight. Simple :)

Lunches:
*(S)Salmon fillet over sautéed cabbage - I just pan fry a salmon fillet (frozen) and while that cooks I sautee up chopped cabbage in a little butter. When finished I drizzle a little sesame oil on top and place the finished salmon fillet on top. YUM! Beautiful deep S lunch, easy too!
*(S)Sandwiches on Just Like Grandmas Rolls, I usually pick up some lean chicken deli lunch meat and make 2 little sandwiches. I will also have something like cucumbers or bell pepper slices on the side. A couple of pieces of dark chocolate go wonderfully with this!
*(S)Chinese chicken salad....this is coming up soon in a blog post, sorry, you will just have to wait a little bit!! SO GOOD!
*Leftovers! Economical, quick, easy and always on plan!

Dinners:
*(S)I always buy a family size tray of chicken, breasts, drumsticks, thighs, whatever. Then one day  for dinner my hubby will BBQ the whole bunch! I season simply with salt, pepper and usually garlic powder so I can use leftovers for anything! Nice big yummy salad, I love adding olives, avocado, veggies and pine nuts to the top. I make a simple "honey" mustard dressing that I love!
*(S)Meatloaf and mashed cauli - should I write this up as a post??
*(CO)Carne Asada tacos. I made this marinade Carne Asada "Darn" Good and let it marinade overnight. I will serve this with corn tortillas (2 regular or 4 sprouted). I will also have avocado, salsa and refried beans. We love our tacos and I would rather enjoy them fully as a crossover than feel cheated with a  single fuel source. :) We are serious taco people. LOL
*Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs - easy, clean spaghetti squash thoroughly, cut in half place cut side down in crockpot, pour in 2 jars of no sugar or homemade sauce. I add in chicken Italian sausages and turn it on low all day. Remove, clean and shred squash, serve with sauce and meat. I will have a salad with this. Probably have some Just like grandmas garlic butter rolls too.
*(S)Big Mac Salad- this has great reviews, I am excited to try it!
*(E)Sloppy Joes on Sweet potatoes, side salad. YUM!

Desserts:
*(E) Cinnamon rolls...again, trying something for the blog, SORRY!!
*(S) Briana Thomas' Fudgy Brownies
*(E) Sheri Grahams no bake cookies - I omit the peanut flour and add in protein powder or cashew butter, both work great!
*(S) Cheesecake berry crunch, I use goat cheese that comes in a log for the cream cheese and I sub in pistachios for the almonds. SO YUM!

Snacks:
*Dark chocolate, I LOVE Trader Joes brand of dark, great price too! I will often have a small handful of nuts with that
*Light string cheese with a piece of fruit, thankfully being on THM has helped heal my gut enough I can now enjoy some cheeses!
*Big Boy Smoothie, one of my favorites
*BP tea (I am not a coffee drinker, just love me despite my flaws)

If you are in need of any THM food products, please check then out through my affiliate link

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That's the plan for the week! I hope you find this helpful for your own THM journey!!

With joy~ Tina

Oil of Joy ~ Trim Healthy Mama Retail Outlet WHAT??

Once upon a time a homeschool mom of two prayed and asked God to plan a career for her in the future, something where she could still be in charge of her daily schedule and preferably be her own boss. She also asked Him to be in ministry as well as be involved in something where God could still be an active part of her work. This homeschool mom had a lot of requests, but she asked her loving Abba in heaven and would remind Him now and then as the years went by.

Then one summer day this homeschool mom and her husband decided to attend a local conference and had the fun idea of hosting a Trim Healthy Mama table in the marketplace. It will be fun she thought! I could meet lots of folks and share this incredible plan with other ladies searching for food freedom and joy in eating guilt free!

So, she wrote an email to Trim Healthy Mama asking for their help to sell product at the conference. They wrote back and to her surprise they asked her if she was interested in becoming a retail outlet! WHAT?? She thought....open a store? Is that possible?

She prayed, a lot. She thought about her grown son who was now in college and the one year of homeschool left with her daughter. The timing felt right! She decided that this was a gift from her Abba and signed the contract and mailed it back. A new adventure has begun!! :)

Welcome to my Oil of Joy Trim Healthy Mama Store!!

I am so excited you guys! Truly, I never would have thought this would be a possibility for me! It was never even an inkling or hope! I have been so blessed by THM, I can whole heartedly stand behind THM, the book, the principals, the foods, everything! There are very few companies I think I could truly say that about!

My hope and prayer is to someday attend ladies meetings where I can share about the basics of THM, encourage and help people implement the plan. Share recipes and have shared meals. I have all kinds of ideas and I truly do hope God blesses this adventure and it will be a business I can help support my family with at some level as well. I really do feel so very blessed! 

Trim Healthy Mama for my Mama

With my moms permission, I am sharing her progress toward healing and how Trim Healthy Mama has been an integral part of this journey toward regaining her health.

In my previous posts I have given you a bit of information about what happened with my moms current health condition. I will give a brief summary along with sharing how Trim Healthy Mama has been a huge blessing in her recovery.

Six weeks ago I went to my moms house and found she was really struggling with her health. I didn't know what was wrong, but she was taken by ambulance to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a serious infection that started from a diabetic wound on her foot. When she entered the hospital her blood glucose levels were in the mid 400's. After three days of the hospital diabetic menu as well as insulin shots (for her very first time ever) multiple times per day, they had her blood sugar in the 300's. I decided it was time to put my THM knowledge into action. Get that blood sugar down and stabilize it! I asked some of my fellow admin friends who have diabetes or knowledge of it, and armed with that specific information as well as my knowledge of THM principals, I went through my moms menu at the hospital and placed stars next to all the foods she could eat. In addition, I brought in premade protein shakes that were low carb and filled with good ingredients, Zevia pops, Sobe and Vitamin water zeros. She had plenty of yummy things to drink and a menu she could work with.

Within 24 hours her numbers dropped over 100 points and by the next day she was under the target blood glucose number of 140!!! It was amazing. She was under and holding in her goal range. It was really exciting! Almost a week later she went in for a surgery, they said that often blood sugar numbers will also rise with sickness and traumas to the body such as surgery. While she had some slight spikes, overall, she continued on keeping her numbers under 140. A couple of days after her surgery, the head surgeon (she had 4) came in and asked her who put her on the diet she was on, she told him her daughter did. He paused and said "whatever she tells you to do, do it!!"! That was such an exciting endorsement! I only wish he had asked more about the plan, what was she doing and why it was working. Unfortunately the medical community doesn't seem to work that way. Maybe someday...

After a full 10 days in the hospital my mom was released home. We hired caregivers to come in and care for her 9-10 hours a day. They were instructed to follow only my food guidelines. I have been teaching caregivers how to make Big Boy Smoothies, which they all love. I have given quick summaries of the plan to occupational therapists, and as it turns out, her physical therapist is a THM!! I have stocked her freezer and fridge with good foods that they can make easily for her.

Now fast forward a couple of weeks. She goes to her primary physician for a follow up. They get her stats and vitals, and then the visit with the doctor. My mom asks if she can go off of her insulin and try controlling her diabetes through food alone. (Please, check with your doctor if you are interested in doing this, don't just quit!) He agreed to a two week trial! She quit her insulin that day, we went and created a full THM menu plan for all meals. She was now "on plan" 100% of the time.

She checks her blood sugar levels 5 times per day. Every day, every number, was right on. She was eating mostly S meals, but she still had her E's and a few S helpers as well. It was really exciting to watch her numbers come completely under control and her blood sugar stabilize without the insulin.

Fast forward two more weeks, another follow up doctor visit. We have a log of all her numbers day by day to bring to the doctor. We go in and again, they take down her stat and vitals. Everything is looking great. They read over her glucose numbers and were SO IMPRESSED!! Our next big surprise was over the 2.5 weeks since her last doctor visit she was down 24 POUNDS!! Everyone was so happy and cheering! We had not gone in to this with weight loss as the goal, but it was sure a wonderful side bonus!

The doctor said she needs to share what she is doing because it is working SO WELL! The doctor ordered an in house A1C test to check her long range blood sugar readings. When she entered the hospital she was at 8.3, after 15 minutes we learned her A1C was now (can you stand it??!! Drumroll please.....................)      6.7       !!!!!!!!!!!!!!Wow!! This was AWESOME news! We fully anticipate for her number to drop below 6 by her next visit. Praise God!!

He loved her numbers so much that he agreed she did not need insulin, she was doing a fabulous job controlling her numbers through diet alone, than you Trim Healthy Mama and God who guided me to it. We were all so very happy with all the news we received.

In addition, when my mom left the hospital she left with a fancy wound vacuum on her foot wound. It was quite large and deep, to the bone. They told her that she would need that wound vac on her foot for approximately 3 months. One thing I have learned is the importance of protein in healing the body. Wounds and tissue repair occur so much more efficiently when there is adequate protein in the diet. Truly, it's astounding the difference it makes. Well, 6 weeks after she left the hospital her foot wound no longer needs a vac!! It was removed and she now has just a surface wound that will now finish healing with proper care! AMAZING! What they projected to be a 3 month issue, minimum, was cut in half! God is so good!

I am so very thankful for the knowledge I have gained through Trim Healthy Mama. I feel like God filled me with the needed guidance to help my mom heal in this time. I am looking forward to continued good reports from the doctor and for my mom to grow stronger and be even healthier and more energetic before this whole episode.

If you struggle with your health, would like to control your blood sugar, whether you are diabetic or not, I would love to share with you about THM. It has made such an impact in my life, my husbands and now this additional incredible testimony for my mom. I am a THM'er for LIFE!

With Joy and Gratitude ~ Tina