Chicken, Basil, Walnut, and Greek Yogurt Salad

I'm always looking for something new to use Greek yogurt in, especially since I got to try Fage Greek yogurt free by being a Bzz Agent.

Here's my recipe for a yummy chicken salad that can be eaten on its own or would be awesome on a cracker or even toast.

Ingredients:

4 ounces chicken breast (4 points plus)

14 grams walnuts (it's 1/2 of a serving of walnuts) (3 points plus)

several basil leaves (0 points plus)

5 TBSP Green nonfat yogurt (1 points plus)

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Pulse the chicken breast in a food processor until desired consistency is reached. I do it until it's almost like a crushed nuts consistency.

2. Add basil and walnuts. Pulse until desired consistency.

3. Add five TBSP Greek nonfat yogurt.

4. Pulse until desired consistency is reached. 

I added a little ground sea salt and pepper and served with basil leaves. It was creamy and healthy and only eight Weight Watchers Points Plus...a perfectly healthy lunch!

Sarah:)

Our SFG (Square Foot Garden)

We've tried a garden before, but with limited results. You see, we have red clay for soil. A backyard garden and red clay go together like oil and water...they don't mesh too well. After our summer of the bummer garden I thought we'd never be able to really garden here. Then I saw this image pinned on Pinterest and was intrigued by something I'd never heard of before, "Square Foot Gardening."

I checked out the book 

and read it.

It was too simple to not try!

First, Ryan and I used the wood we had to make a 2' x 10' frame. We had planned on following the directions in the book exactly and build a 4' x 4' frame, but for the space we had in mind, we just decided it was best to use what we had (and we didn't even have to cut it because it was wood left over some other project of ours!). 

Second, we placed the frame in a spot that gets a lot of sun throughout the day.

Third, we placed cardboard on the ground inside the frame to control weeds. It's OK to do that because you only need 6" of  Mel's Mix soil to grow plants in. Also, the cardboard will degrade eventually.

Fourth, we filled the frame with "Mel's Mix" of 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 compost. We bought this all at Lowe's. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I wanted this garden to actually produce something, so I decided to not let money (or lack thereof) decide the fate of this project)

Fifth, Ryan and I measured out 20 square feet with twine and nailed it in to the frame to create the square foot grid that is essential to this SFG.

Sixth, we planted the plants/seeds. We chose what we did because that is what we'll actually eat. 

Seventh, we added the DIY irrigation. They're just plastic water bottles with a pin prick towards the bottom that water the roots of the plants.

That's it! That's our SFG. We are anxious about the veggies we will be getting out of this attempt at gardening. 

A few things I like about this method are:

-no need for fertilizer

-no need for insecticides

-no need to dig up and use your existing soil

-easy enough for someone without a green thumb to do

-small enough to give the satifaction of a garden, but large enough to have enough produce to make the attempt worthwhile.

Do you have a garden? What do you love about it?

Sarah:)

Clementine Banana Bliss

So....yeah, it's been a long time since I've been here. I'm back now though!

I've been doing Weight Watcher since the beginning of the year and am really working on eating more healthy foods. Most fruits and veggies on WW are 0 PointsPlus. I love the PointsPlus program because it helps you make wise food choices, like eating more fruits and veggies to keep you from being hungry. Since fruits are "free", I've been playing around with different combos and ways to eat them.

This combo is the bomb! I had a whole box of clementines that I wanted to make sure got eaten before they went bad. I can only eat so many of them before I get tired of them. My mind wandered off to an Orange Julius. Not wanting to use anything but fruit, I came up with this "recipe".

Peel three clementines.

Separate them into sections and place them on a plate. Place in the freezer and freeze.

When they're frozen solid, you can put them in a plastic baggie so it will take up less space in your freezer. 

Place the sections into a food processor. Blend until you get a powdery substance like this.

Add 1/2 C. cold water and continue to blend. You'll have kind of an Icee texture now.

Add in one banana and continue to blend. Now, you will have a smoothie texture.  

It's amazing how good and refreshing this is! I hope you enjoy it like I have been!

Sarah:)

St. George Island, Florida

In random order, may I present to you some pictures taken on our trip to St. George Island in Florida to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. Without further adieu, here they are!

Both sunrises and sunstets were beautiful on the island.

Charlie really enjoyed fishing; so did Grandpa. 

The quantity of butterflies on the island was immense. It was kind of weird. 

This was the neighbor's deck. 

There were so many pelicans! They are such graceful birds! 

The pink and blue sky with the purple coulds was stunning. 

This was the back of the roadside store we got oysters and seafood from. 

Needle-nose fish are just a few of the creatures we encountered. We got up close and personal with sting rays (Kurt got stung and one whole day of his was used up dealing with that darn "sting"), jelly fish, and all kinds of other sea creatures. 

This pompano made for a nice little treat for supper. 

The sky was really like this! It was surreal! 

Grandma enjoyed her little birthday celebration.

The shoreline was full of shells. Where we go to the beach in SC doesn't have many shells so this was a treat for us to get to rummage through lots of different types of seashells.

Seaoats create a barrier between the shore and the houses. The sea turtles nest here. 

I'm not fond of seagulls... 

 Seeing a sundog never gets old!

This is an old trestle bridge in Albany, GA. We stopped there on our way.

Does it get much more peaceful than this?

Lastly, no trip is complete without a flower shot!

If you've made it this far, I hope you've enjoyed the pics! They were some of my favorite from the trip. I only wish my children wouldn't run from me every time I have the camera out! I'd love to have more pictures of them!

Sarah:)C:\Users\Rolf\Downloads\pinterest-8cee8 (1).html

It's No Secret

I'm overweight. Like, big time overweight. Like, more than 100 pounds overweight. I've been thin (6-8), and I've been this size (22-24). I've lost and gained at least a few hundred pounds in this lifetime. This size is no fun at all. Nothing is easy or fun about being this size. Things that are easy for normal weight people are hard for people of my size. I've tried about every diet known to mankind and I'm pretty sick of being this overweight. People might wonder how in the heck I've let myself go like this. I wish I could tell you all of the reasons why, but that would end up being a novel instead of a blog post!

I just got home from the beach and saw a picture of myself and was literally shocked, with my mouth wide open, about just how big I've really gotten. It's not just unhealthy, but it's unsightly. :(

Because of this, I've decided to try the 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge sponsored by Creative Bioscience. I will be using the 30 Day Diet for three months. There were several products for me to choose from including a raspberry ketone product and African mango product that I've heard a lot about but haven't yet tried.  The 30 Day Diet includes both of these ingredients and much more to promote weight loss. Creative Bioscience has an "A-" rating with the Better Business Bureau and that's very important to me!

I'll keep you updated on my progress once every few weeks. :)

This is even my good side! I can't bear to show you the front view! Hopefully that will change soon!

Sarah:)

P.S. This post is somewhat humiliating to me. I'm counting on people not to make nasty comments because if you've ever been this overweight, you'll realize that the last thing is a comment about what you already know. So, thank you in advance!

How Many TImes?

Ugh! How many times have I said, "It's been so long since I've blogged!". Too many times! But, I have to say it again. Apparently I'm a consistent blogger: consistently inconsistent!

Here are a few shots I've taken the in the last few days.

Hopefully I'll see you back here in a few days, rather than a few months!

Sarah:)

Back to School 2012

The boys are off to school! Charlie is in 6th grade and Ryan is in 4th.

Welcome new school year!

Sarah:)

Project Pinterest: Fluffy Pancakes

Ahhhh! What's better than fluffy pancakes? In my opinion, not a lot! I've made lots of pancake recipes, but this is one of the best. They really are fluffy!

The pin came from Allrecipes.com. Click on the link for the super easy and quick recipe!

What have you been pinning and making?

<center> <a href="randomthoughtsfromamomsperspective.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac91/srolf11/PP.jpg" /></a>


Sarah:)