Oil Of Joy: 2016

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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

IM MOVING!! :)


It has been time for a move for quite a while, the  new blog is not yet perfect (nor will it ever be, lol) but it is my new home on the web!

Please join me over at:

http://www.anointedwithoilofjoy.com/
Take a peek around my new place! Please understand it is a work in progress, so there will continue to be changes and upgrades as I learn more and work on making it my own.

Ya know, kinda like hanging pictures on the walls, putting out area rugs and finding knick knacks just right for my space, lol.

I will soon have a store available to you for THM products and any other nifty things I find I think you would appreciate!

I will also be adding all of my recipes to seperate files designated by food type avoided to help you navigate THM with food allergies!

I am learning, this new place is challenging for me, but fun to learn. So thank you for your continued support and patience!

With joy ~ Tina :)

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Instant Pot Giveaway from the THM Bloggers Test Kitchen!

Happy Mother's Day!


***This post may contain affiliate links thank you for any purchases made through them as they help to support my blog and my family!***


Isn't this amazing? These ladies at the THM Bloggers Test Kitchen site are just incredible and always looking for fun ways to make our group more fun and exciting and bless our members! I am so thankful to be part of it!

So, just in time for Mother's Day, we have collaborated to host an amazing giveaway for ONE  lucky mama to receive:

Instant Pot IP-DUO060 7-in-1 multi function Pressure Cooker (6qt/1000Watt)

I have in the past owned a pressure cooker, and it was such a timesaver and huge help in the kitchen! I know whoever receives this is going to just love it!

To be eligible for this giveaway you do need to be a member of the THM Blogger Test Kitchen! Please hop on over and join us for some of the best THM recipes, including allergy friendly categories!

You can place your entry here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest runs starting NOW and ends on May 7, 2016, WINNER will be announced on the Test Kitchen site and notified by Email on May 8, 2016. Winner chosen will have 24 hours to respond to announcement or a new winner will be chosen.

(We are not responsible for entries that will not load and or any issues with your Instant Pot prize)

***This prize is in no way affiliated with Trim Healthy Mama LLC***

***This prize and shipping is limited to USA and Canadian Mamas only***


Thank you for being such wonderful readers, sharing in your THM journey with me, it is a joy to be part of this giveaway and I look forward to seeing who wins this amazing prize!




Monday, April 25, 2016

My Unleavened Bread Meal Plan


***This post contains affiliate links. Thank you so much for supporting this site and my work!***

Choosing meals during unleavened bread is certainly easier now that we are gluten free. However, there are some things, like muffins and Just Like Grandmas Rolls that I really miss!

To make things simple this week, I came up with this easy plan and I would like to share it with you in case you are also looking for some inspiration!

Breakfasts:
Warm Chia Porridge (3 times this week) with chicken breakfast sausages
Fat Stripping Frappa (2 times this week)
Oatmeal with Maple Extract and Pecans for my fat (2 times this week)

Lunches:
Split Pea soup with chicken breast (2 times this week)
Loaded Fotato Soup (2 times this week)
Sesame Chicken Noodles (2 times this week)
Salad with Tuna and EVOO/Balsamic dressing

Snacks/Desserts:
Skinny chocolate
No bake Cookies
Cheesecake Berry Crunch
Glorious Glycine pudding
1/2 serving oatmeal (I am trying to add some carbs before bed to see if it will help me sleep better)

Dinners:
Sloppy Joes with Sweet potatoes and salad
Enchilasagna Casserole with Cauli Spanish Rice
Cowboy Grub with Salad
Amish Cabbage Patch Soup
Chana Dahl with Salad
TACOS!!!! :)

Dont miss the sale today at the THM store!! :)
Thank you for using my affiliate link and helping me and my family in our business!

https://store.trimhealthymama.com/#_l_dv






Sunday, April 3, 2016

Patty Melt, melt my heart Low Carb, THM S, Allergy friendly!



***This post does contain affiliate links, thank you for your support**


You are SO welcome!!
                                                                            Ha ha!

Yes, this is a beautiful little allergy friendly patty melt. My household was in patty melt heaven when I made these ones. Oh yes, I am Rock Star Mom right now. :)

These little babies are egg free (of course), can be nut free with a little tweak on my recipe, wheat free, can be dairy free, gluten free too!

Boy oh boy, I am so thankful to have a diet plan that includes Patty Melts!

I truly hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!





Patty Melts, Melt my heart!

Multiple Servings for family

Ingredients needed:
Just Like Grandmas Rolls
2 Teaspoons Caraway Seeds

1.5-2 pound extra lean ground beef
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

1-2 Large onions, sliced into strips
butter or coconut oil for sauteeing

Swiss cheese slices for those who can have dairy



For the burger buns, I use my Just Like Grandmas Rolls recipe found HERE.

*To make them nut free, just sub flax meal for the nut flour called for, I do it all the time and it works GREAT!

** To make these have more of a rye type flavor, I added 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds to the dough! That's my only tweak! They are super yummy! I will probably do this for regular sandwich buns now and then as well! Don't skip it, it adds such a fabulous flavor!

For the burgers:
I used 1.5-2 pounds of extra lean ground beef
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Combine burger ingredients, don't over mix, form into slider size burger patties and grill in a fry pan.

I use this scooper to get a uniform size for both my buns and my burgers:


                                                            

Grill the onions, I used one large onion, although my family had wished there was more. Since we are supposed to watch the amount of onion in an S meal, I used just the one, but next time I will make two large onions and let them load up.

I just sliced my onion into strips, sauteed them in butter, but refined coconut oil would be a great non dairy option. I did overcook mine a bit...so keep an eye on yours!

Last, I used 1/4 slice of swiss cheese on each burger for those who could have dairy. For those that cant, they just enjoyed them without the cheese.

These really are a keeper of a recipe. Satisfying, home cooked goodness.

With Joy ~ Tina :)


If you are in need of any Trim Healthy Mama products, you can shop direct through me or you can visit my THM store linked below!


Sunday, March 27, 2016

BAM Donuts!!! Egg, dairy, gluten, nut free delicious E!

***This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for helping support my blog with your purchases!***

What's a mama to do when she is craving donuts with her morning tea?
I loved donuts before THM, and since THM, being egg free, I was really missing them.
I kept thinking how lovely it would be to sit and sip my tea with a delicious donut.

IDEA!! Make the Bust a Myth (BAM) cake (page 298 of the Cookbook) using my allergy friendly tweaks and pour it in my donut pan!!! Serious moment of genius creativity!

I did add some cinnamon, a teaspoon because I love cinnamon.

I also ground up some Super Sweet Blend and made powdered sugar and lovingly dusted the tops of my donuts with the sugar and then a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Heavenly. 



Truthfully, they would be great just out of the oven, warm and soft. They don't need anything extra. 
However, that little sprinkle of sweetness just made my heart happy. :)

These will be made often and enjoyed frequently. Thank you THM for making donuts possible in my life while I am still working toward my weight loss goals.

With Joy & Donuts ~ Tina


If you are looking for a good donut pan, I bought two of these, which the recipe made a perfect dozen in them:

                                                                




Tuesday, March 15, 2016

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!! :)



This is one of TWO big things I am working on!! I am just so excited about this!!
This is a collaborative effort from many of the THM bloggers you are already very familiar with!

We have put together ONE Facebook page where you can go and find recipes by fuel type or even by allergen!

ALL of these recipes are tried and true! We have either created them ourselves or use the recipe in our own home and KNOW it's worth sharing with you!

Please, click through and join us over on Facebook for this exciting one of a kind forum!!

We have some awesome GIVEAWAYS to celebrate this incredible gathering!!
You can find the giveaway information on A Home with Purpose Site!

THM Blogger Test Kitchen (unofficial, but smokin' hot!)

With joy~ Tina :)

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Chizza Pizza - THM S - Low Carb!


***Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links, thank you for an purchases you make through them, it blesses my family and helps me keep my blog up and running!***

Pizza seems to be one of those foods I can never quite get right. Without eggs and too much dairy, of course no wheat and I would prefer not to use nuts, the crusts are never exactly what I am looking for......making pizza, while delicious, never quite as satisfying as I would like.

I had seen crusts made with meat around the internet, but I didn't want a hamburger patty with pizza toppings either. I wanted something more like a crust....so I thought I would give it a try in my own way!

Chizza Pizza came to be! I decided chicken instead of beef, milder flavor, picks up the flavorings better. Let's the toppings shine! I played around a little and the result was a hit with my whole family. They are my official taste testers, when they love it, that's when I know it's ready for the blog.

I would love to hear what you think of Chizza Pizza if you give it a try!

I would like to offer my dairy free readers some options:

Taco pizza! Top this crust with a thin layer of refried beans, or salsa, then top with olives, seasoned hamburger, onions, peppers, jalapenos, bake it up and top with fresh tomatoes and shredded lettuce!
BBQ pizza! Top with a schmear of on plan BBQ sauce (from the book), red onions, shredded beef, oinions and garlic.


On to my basic Chizza crust!

2 pounds lean ground chicken (mine had only 5 grams of fat per serving!)
1/8 cup of Baking Blend (or substitute that works for you)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

I used a jelly roll pan for baking this, something with a lip is important so you don't have drips.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix ground chicken with the baking blend and spices. Spread chicken mixture thin to edges of the jelly roll pan, creating a little lip around the edges if you would like it to resemble more of a pizza crust.

Bake for approx 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove from oven, but leave it on!

Now top your Chizza! We used no sugar added spaghetti sauce, mozzerella, turkey pepperoni, onions, peppers and some shavings of parmesan. Pop back in the oven for about 10-15 more minutes to allow toppings to get hot and if you are using cheese, let it get all melty and wonderful!

With Joy ~ Tina :)



                                   


Sunday, February 28, 2016

My Weekly Meal Plan!

**This blog post contains affiliate links, thank you for your purchases that help support my blog!**

There are times when I find myself so far from where I started I need to take a walk back in time, revisit the place where I started. So, I am shaking things up!! I am returning to some simplicity in the plan. I easily get caught up in all the fun and specialty things, that I forget the delicious simplicity of some of the basics of the plan.

This week is weigh in week as well for the Accountability Group - so I am also giving myself a little boost with some of the foods that originally helped me reach my goal weight!

As always, my meal plan is egg, almond, peanut, sunflower seed and wheat free. I truly hope you find this helpful to your journey!

Breakfasts:

Chicken breakfast sausage scramble with non starchy veggies, with Trimmy (3 times)
Oat Pancakes, slim belly jelly, FP Trimmy (2 times)
FSF or Big Boy Smoothie (2 times)

Lunches:

Large green salad with tuna (or other meat) EVOO/ACV dressing, skinny chocolate (3 times)
Loaded Fotato Soup with smoked salmon (twice)
Brown Rice cakes with lean deli meat, pickles, mustard, baby frap (twice)

Dinners:

Chicken Pizza with side salad, EVOO/ACV dressing
Taco Salad
Chicken in crockpot with broccoli and cauliflower
Salmon over a bed of greens
Cowboy Grub with peas & carrots on the side
Chicken Fajitas bowl over spanish cauli rice
Chana Dahl soup in the crockpot and side salads

Desserts:

I am trying to go a little lighter here, I enjoy those lovely fats, but trying to boost things a little with lighter foods closer to bedtime

Cookie Bowl Oatmeal with berries (twice)
Skinny Chocolate (twice)
Hot Cocoa trimmy with cinnamon "toast" (twice)
I have one night undecided.....

What do you all use for salad dressings? I almost never buy a premade dressing, between food sensitivities and on plan ingredients, I find myself struggling. I think this looks like a great gadget to help me make more dressings! Do you have anything like this? Do you like it?

                                                             

I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

With Joy ~ Tina :)




Tuesday, February 23, 2016

GIVEAWAY WINNER IS........



Congratulations Pamela Stence!

Please be sure to watch your email for further instructions!

Rafflecopter was used in randomly choosing the winner of this giveaway. Thank you to all who entered!

With Joy ~ Tina :)

Sunday, February 21, 2016

My Weekly Meal Plan!!



Here's my plan for the upcoming week! I am hoping to get to the grocery store tomorrow as we are running low on supplies!

I feel so good and enjoy being on plan so much more when I am prepared!

Here we go!

Breakfasts:
Chicken breakfast sausage, green and yellow zucchini saute - trimmaccino rich mmmm....(twice)
Fat Stripping Frappa (twice)
Chia Tapioca Pudding with strawberries
Pancakes with berries (twice) (make triple batch for future use)

Lunches:
Deep S salad with tuna
Pancakes with berries
Loaded Fotato Soup and a baby frap
Chicken tenderloin with salad and trimmaccino light
Lettuce wrap deli meat sandwiches with baby frap
Just Like Campbells Tomato Soup with Just Like Grandmas Rolls
Leftovers

Dinners:
Chicken Breast Pizzas
Taco Salad
Burrito Bowls
Whole chicken in the crockpot and veggies
Deep S salad with Salmon
Cowboy Grub
Fish and roasted broccoli and cauliflower drizzled in EVOO

Snacks:
Skinny Chocolate (twice)
Hummus and veggies
Fruit and tea with collagen
Chia tapioca pudding
Trimmaccino rich
Baby Frap

Desserts:
Gluccie Chocolate Pudding (twice)
I am going to try tummy tucking ice cream.....
Brainy blueberry muffin with trimmy light
Skinny chocolate (twice) with hot cocoa trimmy
Baby Frap

What's on your menu plan this week? How are you planning for a successful THM week?

With Joy ~
Tina

Thank you for shopping for your THM needs through my affiliate link! Your purchases help me continue to bring you meal plans and more fun egg free recipes!






Tuesday, February 16, 2016

***GIVEAWAY!!!*** THM Plan Book & Cook Book!!!



LADIES! I am so excited to have the opportunity to offer this amazing giveaway! This plan has literally changed my life and I am so blessed to be able to share it with others through my blog, through local meetings and now one lady who has not been able to purchase the books yet will have the opportunity to win the set and learn all about this amazing plan!

This may be a bit backwards, but I want to start my thoughts about this set with the cookbook!! This book is AMAZING!! It has many wonderful allergy friendly recipes as well! For the recipes that contain egg, I am slowly working through and trying my best to recreate them for all of us egg free families. You can find that post HERE.  There are wonderful dairy subs in here as well! Collagen berry whip, hello cheese and laughing mama to name a few of the new dairy free options! The dinner recipes have been wonderful and my family is LOVING them!

One of my favorite sections is the drinks! There is chocolate milk, strawberry milk as well as many others! All wonderful and help curb my sweet tooth and keep me focused, satisfied and successful!

They have categorized the recipes for fuel types, allergens and even those that require no special ingredients! This book has been an amazing resource!

The plan book is a must have, I will be honest though, I LOVE the casual, fun style of the first book. However, I know for many it was too much, I truly believe for those of you this will be a much better option. It's concise and gets you to the heart of the plan much quicker. Truly, it's wonderful. The sisters have done an amazing job working to adapt to the requests of their customers. How amazing is that? How often have you heard of authors that listen so closely that they work this hard to bring out what their customers want? I am just so blessed to be affiliated with THM, in my blog and my store. Truly a gift.

Now on to the GIVEAWAY!

The technical stuff:

*NO purchase necessary to enter!
*This giveaway is open to US residents only
*Contest runs from 2/17/16-2/23/16
*Prize will consist of THM Plan & Cookbooks
*These will be mailed to winner via USPS - Oil of Joy is not responsible for items lost by USPS
*Oil of Joy will be using Rafflecopter to randomly choose winner for entrants
*Oil of Joy is not held responsible for content in book/coookbook


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be announced on my FACEBOOK PAGE!!!


Sunday, February 7, 2016

My Weekly Meal Plan!


***This post contains affiliate links. Thank you so much for any purchase made through them as they help support my site!***
I have not been nearly as consistent in sharing my weekly meal plans as I would like to be. Even when I do not share it, I ALWAYS right one up! I may not follow it perfectly, but even with that, it is a huge stress reliever for me. When I am tired or feeling uninspired, I can just look at my list! I always grocery shop from that list as well so I always have everything on hand!

Breakfasts:
Chicken breakfast sausage and Just like Grandmas Rolls (twice)
Creamy Key Lime Shake page 408 (once)
Healthy Cherry Milkshake (once, I will sub in sprouted tofu for the yogurt in this and use Super Sweet blend, I may throw in a handful of oats as well since this will be an E shake, I think my daughter will like this!)
Pancake with strawberries (once)

Lunches:
Sandwiches on Just Like Grandmas Rolls with Earth Milk (three times)
Super Salmon Patties page 176 with broccoli and death free cheese
Fat Stripping Frappa - because we should all enjoy a chocolate shake for lunch :)  (once)
Leftovers (twice)

Dinners:
Taco Salad (one of my favorites!!)
Cilantro Lime Burst Thighs with cauliflower page 54
Sloppy Joes on Sweet potatoes with salad
Cowboy Grub and salad page 59
Golden Chana Dahl Soup page page 99
Spaghetti over spaghetti squash with ground beef
Pasta Fagioli (a family recipe that I tweak to be on plan, this will be for erev shabbat, our Friday night dinner with dessert)

Desserts! My favorite!!

Bust a myth cake (twice)
Cookie Bowl Oatmeal with strawberrie on top (I make a double batch, so twice!)
Meadows Lemon Coconut Truffles page 336 (I will use goat cheese to replace the cream cheese, Once)
Berry Crunch Bars page 392 (this will be our erev shabbat dessert!)

If I am able to, I want to try to play with that Payoff day candy too.....

Have a great week!
With Joy ~ Tina


Friday, February 5, 2016

Enchilasagna Casserole with Spanish Cauli Rice - Delicioso! S meal

***This post contains affiliate links.Thank you for shopping through them and supporting my little blog!**

Oh, this was REALLY good. Mexican food is a favorite around my home, we could eat tacos every day I think. We also love enchiladas and this little idea has been rolling around my brain for some time now. I decided tonight was the nigh to try it out and this dish received rave reviews from the family! This is an S meal on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, it is also a very low carb meal for those following a low carb diet. 
Here's my little trick, to keep this dish low in carbs and stay in S territory, I used thicker sliced deli meat in place of my tortillas. I chose a simple chicken breast variety and asked the lady at the counter to cut it about the thickness of a tortilla. :) 
 

I took a little shot of my daughters piece, she cannot have much dairy, so this is one piece that I only used a sprinkle of cheese on...it still looks yummy, even if you have to have this dairy free!


The completed Enchilasagna!! 


If this were an action shot, you would see the sauce bubbling in the dish...the fragrance was fantastic!


Because I MUST have spanish rice - AKA Mexican rice. I adapted a favorite recipe and it worked out amazingly well!!



Enchilasagna:

You will need one batch of my enchilada sauce found here in my Chicken Enchilada Casserole. I subbed 1/2-1 teaspoon of gluccie for the brown rice flour to keep this in S territory.

Ingredients:
1 pound sliced lean deli meat of choice (about the thickness of tortillas)
1+ pounds of ground beef cooked with 1/2 cup of chopped onions
1 small can black olives
2 cups shredded cheese of choice - or leave off for dairy free

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Assemble your enchilasagna!

In a 9x13 baking dish layer in 4 slices of your deli meat so it covers the bottom like pictured above. Spread some of the enchilada sauce over the meat.
Layer in half of the ground beef and olives.
Layer on 4 slices of lean deli meat and cover with enchilada sauce.
Layer in the other half of the ground beef and olives.
Top with 4 more slices of lean deli meat.
Cover with the remaining enchilada sauce.
Sprinkle cheese over the top of everything.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Spanish Cauli Rice:

Ingredients:
1 - 12 oz bag of cauli rice (or approx 3 cups of riced cauliflower)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup of diced onions
2 chopped garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste
refined coconut oil for sauteeing

Saute onion and garlic for a couple of minutes over medium. Add in the cauli and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until cauli is done and the liquid has evaporated. Done!



Be sure to check out the Trim Healthy Mama store for all your THM needs!
With Joy ~ Tina

Sunday, January 31, 2016

My weekly meal plan!


**This post contain my affiliate link, if you choose to shop through it, thank you! It blesses me and helps my family. Much appreciated!**
Hello ladies!
Here we go, this is our meal plan for this week.

How are you all doing with meal planning? I truly am so much more successful when I have a plan, get groceries and prep!

I've not been feeling my best for a few weeks now, which also doesn't help me stick to plan, however, I am so thankful and praising God that I seem to be on the upswing now and improving! Now I just have to remember to not overeat!

My husband has also been doing a cleanse for a few days now and will wrap that up on Tuesday, so it has made cooking for all of us a bit crazy! Looking forward to getting back to routine!

Here is what's to eat this week, I hope this helps you or give you inspiration!!

Breakfasts:
Crepes (New recipe, I've made it once, will make it this week twice and then post!)X2
Scones with BP Tea, I will have this twice this week
Baked Oatmeal, I will have this twice and probably for snacks too
Yogurt with berries, hemp seeds and THM Stevia

Lunches:

Leftover Cabbage Patch Soup  (I use this recipe, on plan sweetener and extra lean ground beef that I rinse well and call this an E)
Sandwiches on Just Like Grandmas Rolls with lean deli meat, Earth Milk (pg 402) (twice)
Sweet and Savory Sesame Noodles (twice)
Leftover Chili (twice)

Dinners:
My fast food: I boil cauliflower, all beef organic hot dogs together, then place in a bowl with cheese and a decorative squirt of mustard
Roast in the crockpot with salad
Cabb & Saus Skillet (pg 58), cauli rice (I buy it at Trader Joes)
Wicked White Chili (pg37) with side salad
Sloppy Joes on Sweet Potatoes with side salad
Golden Chana Soup (pg 99) with side salad
Tuna Melts on Just Like Grandmas Rolls side of roasted broccoli

Snacks:
Earth Milk (pg 402)
Dark Chocolate....yum :)
Big Boy Smoothies


 Trim Healthy Mama Store


With Joy~ Tina :)











Thursday, January 28, 2016

Marvelous Mini Meatloaves - Egg free, Dairy free, Grain Free, Nut free (S)


I love meatloaf! My whole family loves meatloaf! Sometimes I don't have over an hour to wait for it to bake, this is a wonderful, quick and delicious alternative!

I wanted these to be as allergy friendly as I could get them, so I went with simple, yet flavorful! There are no eggs, yet they stayed together beautifully! There is no wheat or oats etc, yet they were moist! I did top them with a smidgen of mustard, which was the perfect little tang!

I baked them in my silicone muffin pans, so easy to use, non stick, easy cleanup. Mine get lots of use creating wonderful things both sweet and savory!

                                                                  

My side dish to keep this a delicious S was asparagus. They had it on sale for $1.99 a bunch at Trader Joe's today, I couldn't help myself! I did a simple light saute in some EVOO and seasoned simply with salt and pepper. Any non starchy would round this out beautifully, with butter! I only used EVOO this time instead of butter because my husband is on a cleanse and no butter for him until next week!  It was such a good dinner I could hardly wait to share!

Marvelous Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients:

2 pounds 85% lean ground beef (I wanted a little fat in there for moistness and flavor)
1 Tabelspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon real salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme

That's it! So simple!!

Combine all of the ingredients, which I do in my mixer, but don't overmix it!! We don't want tough little meatloaves!

Now break the meat in to 12 pieces and roll in to balls. Place one in each cup of your muffin tin.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes!

With joy ~ Tina


Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Simple Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce (S, E or FP)


Deliciously Simple!

**This post does contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting me!***
I love an easy slow cooker meal. I take a few minutes out of my busy morning to get everything tossed in, clean up and one thing is now checked off my list for the day!

Between homeschool, running a bible study, dance fellowship and household chores, my slow cooker has been such a useful tool in my home! I shoot for at least one meal a week that can be made in my slow cooker!

This spaghetti sauce is super simple, can be made for any fuel type and throws together in a few minutes. The recipe as written made 4 generous servings, could be 6 if you're not Italian like my husband and you love your spaghetti!

I added sliced Italian chicken sausages to this batch as you can see in my photos. You could also add shredded chicken breast, ground beef etc.

Since we are gluten free in our home we use either Trader Joes brown rice noodles or our other favorite is Tinkyada Brown Rice noodles. These noodles can be used on THM in side serving portions once in a while. It will make your meal an E or if you add fat, of course it will be a crossover. I always make up a spaghetti squash, fill my bowl with that and add in a few noodles on top. I found I don't need all those noodles and I am fully satisfied. You could also use Dreamfields Pasta if you are not gluten free and it can be used in any setting.



Simple Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Serves 4 hungry Italians or 6 Regular Peeps

2  15oz cans diced tomatoes
1  6oz can tomato paste
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan (dairy free, you can omit this)
2 teaspooons oregano
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon Super Sweet
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 small/medium onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 Tablespoon refined coconut oil (or regular if you don't mind the flavor)

1 pound meat of choice prepared.

Saute onion and garlic in a small fry pan in the oil. I prefer my onion and garlic to be wilted before adding. This step can be omitted and you can add it raw right to the crockpot to save a step. This is just personal preference.

Add the rest of the ingredients to your 3 quart crockpot. Combine everything well. Let cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low! (I have also made this dish with a bit of spice, a couple of shakes of chili flake is a nice addition if your family enjoys a little zing in their sauce.)

If you are using spaghetti squash, I always bake this almost an hour before I am ready to serve dinner. You could of course use a Vegetti spiralizer (this is the one I have) and make zucchini noodles!


With Joy ~ Tina

Sunday, January 17, 2016

My Weekly Meal Plan and our THIRD week CHALLENGE!

**Please note, this post contains affiliate links! Any purchase made through them helps support my blog and my family. Thank you for blessing us with your purchase!**

Hello ladies!
This is our third week!! Can you believe it? For those of you who have taken my no weigh challenge, we will be checking in with measurement and or weighing in NEXT WEEK! Congratulations to all of you who accepted that challenge, and remember, this will continue throughout the year. I plan to only weigh in once a month, during our weekly challenge!

To join my accountability/challenge group, you can find us on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/514579302038332/

If you are interested in joining us for that challenge, you can check in here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/514579302038332/permalink/525746200921642/

To check in with your weight, measurements and or before and after photos you can find that thread here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/514579302038332/permalink/524343074395288/

Now, on to my meal planning!

So, our third week challenge is to prepare and plan! I have said it numerous times, but I am going to repeat it again, when I meal plan and prepare ahead of time, I am SO MUCH more SUCCESSFUL on plan! So I know many of you struggle with meal planning. It is hard to think of all those meals and for those of us with food allergies or intolerances it can be even more of a task. However, let me encourage you, it is really worth the time and effort you spend on it. You will have smoother days and no more WHATS FOR DINNER panic! You will know in the morning whats on the menu that night! You don't have to figure out what to eat when you're starving, just look at your plan!

So I am CHALLENGING you, make a plan. It can be super formal accounting for every morsel you will eat for a week, or it can be more laid back, just plan and shop for all your dinners. Whatever works best for you, but this is a challenge I want you be mindful of as we progress through our year together.

Now, just because we are no longer on our water challenge week, that doesn't mean you can forget about drinking plenty! I am hoping that you are developing a new, good regular habit! (And me too) So keep drinking your water.

Think of our challenges like adding on layers to our routines. Gently and weekly we will grow and add on more healthful habits! By the end of the year, we will have a whole new lifestyle that is healthy and trimming. :)

On to my plan! (Oh, I am not the only blogger out there that offers meal plans, Darcies Dishes offers one as well as many others, so be sure to look around! Please link any you find in this thread as well to help others!

Breakfasts:
Bust a Myth Cake page 298 (I'll have this twice)
Big Boy Smoothie page 413 and Chicken breakfast sausage links (I buy at Trader Joes)
I have two busy days, so I will be making bullet proof tea to GO! It will be like my London Fog Healing Tea, but I will add Kerrygold Butter and Coconut Oil
Yogurt with frozen mixed berries, tablespoon of walnut, TruLemon and sweetener Oolong Tea (I will have this the remainder of the week)

I use the THM Cook book a LOT! It's excellent! If you don't have it yet, I highly recommend you invest in it. It is really worth it for all the amazing recipes!

You can find it here:



Lunches:
Lettuce Wrap Chicken Burgers with salad (I'll have this twice)
Leftover Orange Chicken (once)
Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Shake page 410 (I'll have this twice)
Just Like Campbells Tomato Soup page 112 with Just Like Grandmas Rolls
Chicken Patty and Earth Milk page 402

Dinner:
Sweet Potato Oat Soup page 102
Orange Chicken page page 72 serve over cauli rice
Beans N Mac (family recipe, sorry peeps) It's an E, like a minestrone
Spaghetti with chicken italian sausage (I hope to blog this easy crockpot sauce recipe this week!)
Cowboy Grub and salad page 59
Super Salmon Patties page 176 with salad and broccoli
Burrito Bowls (brown rice, beans, chicken breast, salsa and chopped cabbage, easy and Yummy!)
White Wicked Chili with salad page 37

Snacks:
Fat Stripping Frappe (I will have this three times)
Skinny Chocolate and tea (I will have this twice)
Chocolate banana muffins with tea (I will have this twice

Desserts:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar (I will have this twice)
Cookie Bowl Oatmeal with Strawberries (I will have this three times, trying to add FP to dessert)
Pineapple Upsdie Down Cake page 290 (twice)

Have a great week ladies!
Thank you for all your support!
With Joy ~  Tina :)



Sunday, January 10, 2016

Sweet and savory Sesame Noodles S Egg Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Gluten Free

***This post does contain affiliate links. Thank you for your purchases!***

Yum!! Noodles!


Hot or Cold these are delicious!


They were so delicious, they needed a full photo shoot!



Because not only did they taste amazing, they looked just delicious too! Seriously, so easy, so flavorful,  a lovely deep S.
Super duper allergy friendly! Another lovely bonus.

A few weeks ago this idea popped into my head, I wanted a huge bowl of noodles, with a sweet and savory sesame sauce and chicken....and veggies and it had to be BIG. No whimpy portions for this mama!
I had some ideas, I googled around the net and came across this recipe:    http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/simple-sesame-noodles/

This one, while I am quite sure is absolutely amazing as all things the Pioneer Woman does is, it was just not right for my THM lifestyle. So, I decided to play with her recipe and customize it for me! (Which works out for us!)

I wanted to make this a complete meal, so I added chicken and vegetables to round it out and it was very popular in my house. I have happy tummies over here. :)

Sweet and Savory Sesame Noodles -  THM Satisfying Meal

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut aminos or GF soy sauce
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 Tablespoon Super Sweet Blend
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Cups Sliced Cabbage
1 Family Bag of Not Naughty Noodles
2 chicken breasts cooked and chopped
3 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds
4 Green Onions sliced
Chili Flakes to taste

Instructions:

Mix Sauce ingredients together, from the aminos/soy sauce to the EVOO. Mix WELL

Cook and chop chicken breast. I only lightly seasoned mine with some salt. I wanted the flavors of the sauce to shine in this recipe. Set chicken aside. (I used the same pan to cook the chicken that I used to cook the rest of the meal, I like shortcuts!)

I added about 4 tablespoons of water to my hot pan from the chicken to deglaze a bit and I tossed my chopped cabbage in. I water sauteed it until it was just starting to soften. I then added in my well rinsed Not Naughty Noodles and stirred to combine. I then added in the chopped cooked chicken. Once combined I remixed then poured my sauce over everything and stirred until all was well coated and combined.

I plated the meal as is, then I topped with the sesame seeds, green onions and chili flakes. I was going to eat it with some fun chop sticks...but I got impatient and brought the fork out! It was SO GOOD!

This will be delicious hot or cold! I have enough left over from my lunch I will be packing this in my husbands lunch for tomorrow!

With Joy ~ Tina












Saturday, January 9, 2016

Water!

***This post contains affiliate links, thank you for any purchase you make as it supports this blog and my little family and costs you nothing extra!***

Water! So important for life! Do you drink enough of it? I think we all realize it is important for our health and well being, but I thought it would be great to write up a post with some of the many reasons why we should be drinking plenty of water everyday!

If you are part of my 2016 THM Accountability Group, this is our second week challenge! Setting a goal and drinking your water each day! Great habit to get in to!

Benefits of Drinking Water
Promotes Glowing Skin
Helps our bodies absorb nutrients
Keeps our system flowing (yes, it is a visible affect in our blood, have you ever had a blood draw when dehydrated? BAD!)
Helps energize our muscles
Helps our kidneys
Helps...ahem...keep our elimination system moving..a very good thing!
Has a positive affect on our mood
Helps us lose weight
Can lessen joint pain when properly hydrated
Can help prevent headaches

These are just a few of the MANY benefits of water in our system. Look around, life grows, flourishes and multiplies with water, the trees and plants show their beauty when well hydrate and cared for. We too need that care, nourishment to our system with plenty of water.

How much water? From my little bit of research I found a variety of opinions. Some recommend the old standby, 8-8oz glasses of water a day. Some say drink have your body weight in ounces per day. Whatever way you decide to determine how much is enough for you, set a goal and drink that much everyday!

I have actually downloaded an app on my phone that sends me a little reminder to drink my water! I do count my GGMS and tea as water too.

Do you know of more wonderful benefits of water?

John 7:38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

Please check out my Trim Healthy Mama Store for any items you are in need of to help you on your THM journey. You can also PM me for sale through my own retail outlet. Thank you so much! 

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Cinnamon Rolls with Glaze! Egg free, Dairy Free, Wheat Free can be dairy free! THM E!


***This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for any purchases you make through my links, you are helping to support this blog and my little family!***


I love cinnamon rolls. Seriously, they were one of my favorite foods prior to THM. Since being on THM, being egg free, wheat free and mostly dairy free I haven't had a cinnamon roll.

That's sad. :(

I decided that I needed to try to make a yummy cinnamon roll I could once again enjoy. Since making an S dough is so challenging without egg, I decided to try tweaking my oat scone recipe and I really like the result! Now, keep in mind, these aren't the soft fluffy cinnamon rolls you are accustomed to with white flour and all that gluten. However, these are delicious in their own right.

After I had made them and had my test panel (my family) try them out for me, they all agreed it needed a glaze. Being an E cinnamon roll, I knew I would be needing something FP to make it work, so I did it! I came up with a yummy glaze to round these beauties out!

A tip about these, I really wanted that butter flavor, so I maxed out our fat limit in butter with one cinnamon roll, however, if you cut the butter back by half, using half in each area, you could enjoy 2 of these rolls as a nice breakfast or snack. Since mine are already made....I'm just gonna enjoy 2 as my dessert tonight and they will be a slight crossover. I'm so ok with that. I think I will make a nice trimmie hot cocoa to round this out. Yum!

*** For dairy free, sub coconut oil, use refined for no coconut flavor.***

With Joy~ Tina

Cinnamon Rolls with Glaze

For the rolls:
1 1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup oat fiber 
1/4 cup psyllium husk
2 Tablespoons Super Sweet Blend
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon Butter
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup on plan milk of choice
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the butter glaze inside:
1 Tablespoon Super Sweet Blend
1/4 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
1 Tablespoon melted butter

For the Cinnamon filling:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 cup super sweet blend

For the glaze:
1 cup on plan milk
1 teaspoon gluccie
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 droppers of liquid stevia (2 doonks stevia powder should also work here)

To make the glaze, I poured one cup on plan milk into a measuring cup, I added the vanilla and then sprinkled the gluccie on top and whisked this together well. I then added it to a small sauce pan on medium heat and whisked until it thickened into this lovely glaze! You could have fun with this and omit the vanilla and add caramel extract, or maple or whatever sounds amazing to you!

Instructions!

For the rolls:
Combine the dry ingredients, whisking them together to combine well.
Grate the 1 Tablespoon butter into the dry and use hands to combine the butter into the dry ingredients.
Combine the applesauce, milk, water and vanilla.
Pour wet into dry and combine well, using hands to bring the dough together.

I used silpat for the next few steps, parchment (not wax paper) would also work well. Pat your dough out into a rectangle:



Melt butter, add in molasses, brush over dough.



Combine the super sweet blend with the cinnamon and sprinkle, then spread over the entire face of the dough.



Now! Using the silpat or the parchment, start rolling. This dough will be more delicate, but with some gentle finesse, will roll nicely. 


Thanks to my awesome photographer for the action shots. Using the silpat to help me get that roll folded.


Again using the silpat to fold over the dough.

After rolling cut in to 6 equal pieces and place in a lightly greased baking dish of your choice.

Finished product! I think what I would change next time is putting this in a tighter dish. But this worked out for this time. :)


Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.