Tilapia Salad My Day 1 Medifast Lean& Green

Day 1 of TSFL.....

Not to shabby if i do say so myself :oD I have a ton of energy.  I am full but dont feel stuffed.  Didn't get any headaches, once or twice I thought hum, I'm a little hungry and then realized it was time to eat again.  I've had 80ounces of water so far and feel great!  So...This won't be a huge long post but I did want to share a meal I threw together this evening & I must say I'm quite proud of myself!  So the long/short of it....Here's the recipe

Tilapia Salad

7ounces of cooked Tilapia 

1/2cup romaine lettuce

3/4cup cooked "home fries" its thinly cut radishes cooked with a total of 1/8 salt/pepper/garlic powder

1/2cup fresh/raw spinach

1teaspoon of balsamic vinegar drizzled on top

1/2cup cherry tomatoes

Super Easy, Pretty yummy & Very filling....Who knew that all of this was sooo filling!  

Thank you so much for following my journey to a happier & healthier life style.

Beverly

Faux Eggplant Parmesan

For almost a week now, I've had this purple, odd shaped vegetable looming back at me in the fridge.  I was bound and determine to at least make a whole hearted effort to eat this vegetable...but all I could remember is everyone I knew saying...EWW EGGPLANT.  Naturally, I've had it in my head that eggplant was gross.  Now, it was purchased and starring back at me and TODAY was the day it was going to be cooked.  I knew 2 things: 

1.  If you don't cook eggplant properly it would taste gross 

2.  I was positive that I was making eggplant spaghetti 

Now, I'm not sure if your aware but I am not a great cook.  I'm the master of boxed foods or learning after watching someone create a meal and vigorously writing the recipe as they go.  No shame in either, you have to learn somewhere I believe.  However, I am starting a new way of eating for my family and together we have decided t, add more whole, all natural, organic foods into our diet.  OOOH that word, "diet".  That word that almost always leads to failure for me.  I am great at starting a "diet" and just as good as having that cheat day never end.  Such a vicious cycle.  Anyway, back on point.  So, as I'm living in Germany and can't just pick up a phone and call mom. Though, she has never minded even when it was 5am her time, I figured it be best to be the considerate daughter and turn to the internet.  There of course were tons of recipes for eggplant spaghetti.  I then stopped.  My coach had sent me a ton of emails one in particular with others that had recipes for TSFL(Take Shape For Life) so I scrolled through my emails and Voila!  Sandy's Kitchen Adventures.  I clicked on the link and I swear I heard tadaaaaaa with bright light behind me...lol  There were so many recipes at my finger tips and all had been approved by the dietician support for tsfl.  I did look for the eggplant spaghetti but while searching found a recipe called Faux Eggplant Parmesan.  My first thought is, why is it called faux? So naturally I clicked on the link and ended up printing out the recipe.  I went to the commissary bought the few items I was short, diced tomatoes,garlic powder and broccoli soup then headed back to start dinner.  I had a bit of trouble finding the packet of broccoli soup, so I just bought a can of it and  when attempting to make the "crumbs" to coat the eggplant slices it didnt firm up like it was supposed to but I just coated it anyway and kept on going with the recipe.  After baking for about 50minutes, I took it out and honestly thought I had overcooked it.  My husband looked at it and says, "doners" lol.  We seriously thought it was going to taste disgusting ....First New Rule:  DONT JUDGE A FOOD BY IT'S APPEARANCE!!!!!!  It was absolutely, savory, cheesy and had me saying...O-M-G...I can't believe that I can eat this on our new healthy journey.  

I'd like to emphasis that this is not my recipe and firmly believe in giving credit, where credit is due... I got this from Sandy's Kitchen Adventures and am very greatful that their are recipes out there such as this one!

Now, that I'm sure I've made y'all hungry here is the recipe & the link to check out more fabulous recipes :o)

Faux Eggplant Parmesan

Created by Lana aka Winterberry Primitives

Ingredients:

For "Crumbs" to coat eggplant slices:

1 envelope MF Broccoli soup (1 Meal)

1/2 tsp baking powder - original recipe called for 1 tsp but that is 2 Condiments (1 Condiment)

Garlic powder (Optional)

3 tbs water
2 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese (2 Condiments)

For Eggplant Parmesan:

1 1/2 cups egg plant slices (stack in measure cup till they reach 1 1/2 cups) (3 Greens)
1/4 cup egg beaters (1/8 Lean)
1/4 cup Walden Farms Marinara Sauce (2 Condiments)
Garlic powder (Optional)
3.5 oz 2% reduced fat Mozzarella Cheese, divided (7/8 Lean)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all ingredients for "crumbs" in a bowl. Spray a glass pie pan with cooking spray. Pour the mixture in, spread thin and microwave 2.5 min. Using a metal spatula, gently lift and flip. Microwave 1 more minute. Break up the soup mixture, and crush as fine as you can with a small rolling pin.  Add 2 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Dip eggplant slices in egg beaters and then into the "crumb" mixture. Spray a large non stick skillet with cooking spray, and brown the slices on one side then flip and brown other side.

In a shallow casserole pan, put marinara sauce in pan to coat the bottom. Sprinkle garlic powder (if desired) and half of mozzarella cheese over marinara sauce. Add your browned slices of eggplant and top with the remaining half of mozzarella. Sprinkle with reduced fat parmesan cheese for extra flavor but it would be more condiments. I also spooned the leftover "soup" crumbs over the top because I didn't want to waste my nutrients from that MF meal.

Bake at 450 for 30 minutes till browned and bubbly.

Mangia~ That's Italian!

1 Medifast Meal, 1 Complete Lean and Green Meal with 5 Condiments (No Healthy Fats required)

 http://www.sandyskitchenadventures.com

As Always, Thank you for following my blog & Guten Appetite!!!!

Beverly 

Rehweiler...off the beaten path

Guten Abend, Good Evening....There are just so many things I love about Germany.  The weather has been gorgeous today but by this afternoon I was ready to spread my wings and get outdoors.  So I met up with a dear friend of mine, we picked up her 'lil one and headed about 6minutes to the paved path trails.  We parked our vehicles her daughter Shannon hopped on her bike, I leashed up my 4 legged friend Lucy and we were off in the town of Rehweiler and beyond.  Along the way were streams, creeks, bridges, trains, cows, bikers and another family walking their family dog.  It was wonderful to feel the warm sun on my cheeks.  Being in the pet sitting business you grow a love/hate relationship with the weather.  Today I was definitely in love and so was Lucy!  She loves her walks but she also loves a change of pace.  She so badly wanted to hop in the creeks a few times but it was blocked off to keep users of the trail safe.  She was a sport though and continued on to see where the trail would lead us next.  We went about 20minutes and then turned back.  Once we reached the parking area my friend showed me what looked like a fountain.  At looking at the fountain closer, I realized it was a spring that they made a fountain and children were allowed to cool off and  dogs were allowed to stop for a drink, so we did.  It was getting pretty warm, so we sat at the benches under the trees and watched as Shannon played and Lucy got a refreshing drink.  

So if you're ever near Rehweiler and are looking for something to break the monotony of your day, stop by.  Bring a bike, roller blades or if you like me roller skates...hehe I'm a bit unbalanced.  Bring your 4 legged friend, the kids or just go walk with a friend.  Either way its sure to be an amazing ambiance to say the least.

As always, thank you for following my blog & may each of you have a off the beaten path experience :o) 

Bev

Whole Foods Recipe: Chicken Tetrazzini

Hi Everyone!  It's rounding the end of August and there have been lots of weather changes  in Germany.  It has been almost a heat wave here, some days so hot that everyone was just staying inside or hitting the pool.   At night, it was very uncomfortable to sleep since Germany does not have a/c.  Okay, let me elaborate....you can buy a portable a/c but for most people in Germany you just lay either in your bare essentials or in your birthday suite and suck it up!  Several of my friends online were posting about how hot it was even at night and that they were moving mattresses to their 1st floors, basements (keller), taking cold showers right before bed or tossing and turning all night because it was simply just miserably hot!  Why doesn't Germany have a/c people would ask???Well that's a whole other topic in iteself.  So anyway, two days ago, the weather turned cool and breezy...so we pretty much went from 93 degree weather down to 68degrees!  All of my windows are open and it feels great!  With the weather change, I am definitely ready for one of my favorite seasons of the year....FALL! 

Besides me looking cross-eyed..behind me you can see the leaves are falling and  is this beginning  of FALL

My beautiful leaves that have already started to fall and its August 23,2012

 I love that the weather gets cooler, the trees actually turn red, green, yellow and yes even brown.  I love the cinnamon/pumpkin spice smells that yankee candle and other brands come out with, which I fully endulge my home with!  And of course, let's not forget the fall foods/drinks. Which leads me into my blog post today.  

A week ago I realized that my BMI was waaaaaay high and that was a wake up call.  I literally went to my refrigerator and cupboards and cleared all the junk, processed food.  After a home mishape with my un-named electric company(ps thanks for some how having my electricity shut off for most the day without me knowing) I had plenty of time to re-organize.  The next day I hit the grocery store...someone must have known I was starting a new eating lifestyle because so many of things I needed were on SALE! Yaayah!    I went onto Whole Foods recipes and have been checking out take shape for life recipes and applying them to our daily life cooking/eating.  Today from the whole foods recipes we made: CHICKEN TETRAZZINI.  It was DELICIOUS!  Some comments that followed the recipe implied it was dry, sticky, bland and probably not a repeat recipe but that didnt deter me.  Nope, I've never even had CHICKEN TETRAZZINI and really wanted to try it. 

Below is my home made CHICKEN TETRAZZINI...It's pretty delicious :D

Looks good right? Wishing you had the recipe??? Well no worries, I wouldnt show you a delicious dinner without leaving you with the recipe, the way they have it and to the side my substitutions**, simply because I didn't have those items.  

Ingrediants

cooking spray ** I used crisco olive oil

Salt/Pepper to taste

1/2 pound whole wheat or spelt angel hair pasta **linguine noodles

1/2 tablespoon butter

1/2 yellow onion finely chopped**I used a whole one 

1 package sliced mushrooms

1 cup frozen peas** fresh green beans

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

1c low sodium chicken broth

1/4c lowfat milk**Vanilla Silk Milk

1/8teaspoon ground nutmeg

2c chopped cooked boneless skinless chicken breast

6tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, divided**4TBSP parmesean 1TBSP fresh parmesean

4TBSP finely chopped chives,divided**3 green onions

**I added 1 sm container of plain greek yogurt you can also add 6oz of low fat sour cream instead if you like...i did this because people had complained if it being dry

Method

preheat oven 375F. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray &set to side

bring lg pot of salted h20 to boil. add pasta and cook until dente, about 5minutes/drain well

meanwhile, heat butter in lg skillet(**I used a wok) over md. heat. Add onions,mushrooms,salt/pepper and cook, stir occasionally, until soft. about 5min. stir in peas(**i used green beans) and cook

Now, I used add all veggies together and when it all looked cooked it was done and I transfered it to a large bowl.  Now put pasta and veggies together.  I put pasta in casserole dish first and then added veggies and mixed together so it didnt make a huge mess.

Heat oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. whisk flour until smooth but instead of 1TBSP of oil, i added 1 1/3. Then slowly whisk in broth/cook, stir consistently, until thickened.  stir in milk, nutmeg, salt/pepper and cook about a minute more.  add this mixture to the pasta/veggies, then add cooked/cut chicken, 4 tbsp of parmasean cheese and 2 tbsp of chives( this i added the green onion with the veggies to cook all together prior, so i skipped this step) I did add 1 small container or greek plain yogurt, mixed all well together & now bake for about 20-30min until thoroughly hot.  Your house will smell amazing and then EAT!  

Hope Y'all enjoy this wonderful dish & as always thank you for following my blog

Beverly

CHALKBOARD REVEAL

Alles Gute zum Dienstag.....Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!!!!   Whether your weekend has been filled with  traveling, trying a new food, spending time with the family, working on DIY projects or showing some love to your 4 legged friend, I  hope you all have had  an amazing & productive weekend!  We sure have been super busy this weekend.  As you all know, I run Pets Can Vacation Too Doggie Services, which is a vaction "boarding" in our home.  We had a fence put up & had decided to go with a bamboo style "privacy" roll out last summer.  We soon after realized that after mother nature had her way with rain and wind the once nice looking bambo roll out fencing, was falling down and looking just terrible.  So this weekend, my husband made a run to the Toom in Landstuhl, Germany ( its like Lowe's or Home depot in the states) and made a purchase for the green privacy roll out fencing.  It looks awesome!  I'm so pleased with it and am already seeing a difference in quality...wanna know the kicker????  It cost LESS to purchase this, than the bamboo. The roll out bambo cost us 10euro a roll and we had to buy several rolls, the green roll out cost us 8euro & we only needed 7 packages.  Now, instead of sighing with frustration as the rain clouds roll in....I say BRING IT ON!  Below is a picture of what it looks like......

                         

  Below is a photo of what the bamboo fencing looked like

Now, along with the fencing my husband finished installing my Home Made Chalk Board!!!!!  I first saw this in an amazing Interior Designers Home....Mrs. Molly Branstetter....if you havent already you should totally check out her AMAZING blog http://thepoorsophisticate.blogspot.com/2012/08/recycled-hall-reveal.html

I loved it so much and had a frame just laying around and new I just had to at least try and make this chalkboard.  I went to the hobby store on the post and realized for a tiny thing of Chalkboard paint, it was going to cost about 15.00usd....So I left, without my chalkboard paint.  I headed on over to pinterest and found a HOME MADE CHALKBOARD PAINT & guess what???? It worked out.  Now the paint did solidify kind of quickly, but I believe that was due to the fact that I didn't have enough paint.  In germany paint is expensive, it was about 13.00euros for 2 cups of paint!  yikes!!!!  Anyway, i painted my board, it took about 15minutes to completely dry (*note it was a hot day).  I tested a spot with chalk and voiala....so here it is folks....MY VERY OWN CHALKBOARD REVEAL!!!!!

I'd just like to once again say THANK YOU to, " The Poor Sophisticate" without your brilliant design tips, ideas and more....This gorgeous frame would still be home to little creepy crawlies in my attic.  Again, here is the link....y'all should really go check out her blog!  Not only was this great idea on her Blog but many, many more...I will be revealing my striped wall room soon.....that too, was inspired from http://thepoorsophisticate.blogspot.com/2012/08/recycled-hall-reveal.html .

As always, thank you so much for following my blog & may you all have a wonderful week!

Beverly 

Business Side of things--Busy time of Year

Guten Morgan Friends, Family & Fellow blog followers!!!! How has everyone been doing? Things on the "Business Side of Things" has been wonderful & busy. We have a lot of fellow furry friends whether they are cats, dogs or bunnies visiting Pets Can Vacation Too Doggie Services the past few months. For some it's just that time of year where your travel steps up a bit more & for others it's pcs season. We have had lots of play days with friends. It's just safer when the movers are coming to have your furry friend over at a safe vacation place. Certainly don't want your 4 legged family member to go missing right before a move! We have also been helping foster pets when the new place families are moving too is too hot & the airlines won't fly their pet until Aug. Or the airlines just won't fly their breed of dog or don't have enough room. Needless to say we have been more than happy to take several trips up to Frankfurt International Airport to make sure our friends get safely on the plane to meet their families in the states. The main company we have been working with is PetAir and in the 4years I've known about them, I've never heard an ill word about the company...with the exception of their pricing. Other than that, I've heard people use their services for horses, dogs & cats and all those clients have been satisfied customers!!!!! We at PCV2 doggie services, are so blessed that so many old & new friends intrust us with their very special loved ones. As of August 1,2012, we will officially be taking euros for payment since our German business license & all that goes along with it finalized in June. We wanted to allow a grace period & I firmly believe in keeping your word, especially when it comes to price quoting. So we have stuck with, if you were quoted a dollar price before a certain date & have confirmed booking we will honor those rates! For any confirmed bookings after the rate will change to euros, fair enough we think :o) Everyone has been so warm & accepting & understanding about some of the new policy changes. I was very nervous, but all has gone very well! Another change is the creation of our Services & Agreement Statements, which we are wanting to also create digitally for families to have the option of filling out & then either re-emailing it back to us or them printing it out and bringing at drop off. It is a one time fill out & then if there are not changes needed then they just simply sign...and if there are changes they can make them & sign/date. We have also created and finalized our business cards & we just LOVE them! On the backs are the 2012 calendars and a slot for you to fill in your next booked vacation :o) 


Pets Can Vacation Too Doggie Services Pet Services & Agreement



Pets Can Vacation Too Doggie Services Business Cards

My next goal in the next few months......hahah I'm so funny ok, so really we have a million ideas for our business so I guess I'll just list them.

1. Create a logo for shirts & to put on our walking bags

2. Sell doggie bandana's with our log on them

3. We would like to start designing & creating my favorite around the world suites! So Italy, London, Germany(obviously), the US & Greece are just a few suite themes that I would like to start working on.  So each room our friends will feel like they are traveling on their own world vacations! 

4. We also are going to be changing up the backyard a little bit...this one I am sure will be a long term project as we always have friends vacationing with us & want to make sure their play area is always safe! Backyard design's are in the works & any tips and ideas you may have are of course always welcome. As my mom always says, two heads are always better than 1!

We are continuing to always test out new products/toys, our favorites so far are the JW gummy bear/bones/balls(all rubber), the dog whisperer frisbee and the dog whisperer outdoor/indoor house. We are also huge fans of the dog whisperer pet cleaners, they are safe and honestly what does it for me is they DON'T make me gage! For all you pet owners you know what I'm talking about...there are just some cleaners that not only are not pet friendly...but are so strong that you seriously need a face mask to use those products they are so strong and harsh! Our favorite shampoos we have found so far are an Oatmeal shampoo that is all natural & one made my Hartz that is pink and the smell is tropical, very very nice! Our local KMCC has started to step up their pet supply department and we got a few new KONG toys...which we are HUGE fans of! I've washed the balls/football so many times and large chewer dogs have had tons of fun with & they are STILL going strong. Now I am referring to the large size ones...the smaller balls don't last as long but that's to be expected when larger dogs are playing with them :o) Soon we will be making a big purchase for some awesome leashes. Now, you can get leashes for super cheap, but these will run around 200.00 total for 2 & they are to help alleviate strain/injury for our friends that are "pullers" for example huskies & beagles. Now, with that said any dog can be a "puller" So these will work with any breed & size dog. As soon as those come in I'll definitely be blogging about them & add a link to where you can find them too! There are just so many injuries a dog can get in their back/neck/chest area from a simple walk.

Belle testing out the dog toys....JK rubber ball is the first one she Picks

Lijah is one of our friends that vacations with us & more than willing to test new products for PCV2

 

On that note:  Thank you so much for following my blog!!!!  Stay tuned for the NEW LEASHES, MORE PRODUCT TESTING & for a special segmant on HOME MADE DOG & CAT TREATS!!!!!!  They are sure to be paw-licking but we will let our 4 legged friends tell you themselves how they like them!!!!!!

Bev

Chalk Board Paint Recipe

So today I just found out that I no longer need to spend $15.00 plus for Chalkboard Paint!  I'm making a chalkboard and need a lot of the paint, but for only about 4-6ounces at 15.00 bucks a pop, it's been a slow process.  So what am I to do with this newly found information?!  Why Share my dear friends.............

So here it is from the Martha Stewart website, free tips/tricks/design ideas: 

Pour 1 cup of paint into a container. Add 2 tablespoons of unsanded tile grout. Mix with a paint stirrer, carefully breaking up clumps.

2. Apply paint with a roller or a sponge paintbrush to a primed or painted surface. Work in small sections, going over the same spot several times to ensure full, even coverage. Let dry.

3. Smooth area with 150-grit sandpaper, and wipe off dust.

4. To condition: Rub the side of a piece of chalk over entire surface. Wipe away residue with a barely damp sponge.

 Stay tuned for the finished product of my dinning room Chalkboard.

Thank you so much for following my Blog!!!