Motivation Monday: Workouts for the Week

Super late posting this, but wanted to share the workouts for the week.  I am trying to make a habit to share these with you guys!  Cardio is done each day, ranging from 20-30 mins of HIIT (usually sled mills or sprints up hill) or steady state for about 30-40 mins.  All of this is on a treadmill and pretty much depends on my time.  Usually, I opt for sprints because I hate cardio.  If I am at the gym, I will do intervals on the stairs, because I prefer that over running all day.


So I will just carry you through the strength training.  This is what I have planned this and if life happens, I will make changes.  Don't sweat it if you have too.  Just get back in gear the next day :) And Sunday is a rest day so have a great Sunday Funday!!


Monday (Hams, Glutes, & Calves) - Had to do this one at home so it wasn't what I wanted it to be, but it got the job done :)


Rest 30-45 seconds after each set or superset combo (so you'd do exercise 1 for all reps, go straight into exercise 2 for all reps then rest)


Weighted Donkey Kicks - 4 sets x 15 reps per leg


Superset
Weighted Sumo Squat - 3 sets x 12 reps
Weighted Bench Step Ups (you can use a sturdy stool or chair) - 3 sets x 10 reps per leg


Superset
Weight Bulgarian Split Squat - 3 sets x 15 reps per leg
Alternating Jump Lunge - 3 sets x 15 reps per leg


Bridge from the floor - 4 sets x 20 reps (really squeeze at the top)


Lying Hamstring curl with weight between your feet - 3 sets x 15 reps  (if you can't get this, get a Stability ball and do Ball tuck ups)


Weighted Standing calf raises (you can hold a dumbbell in each hand) - 3 sets to failure

Finish with walking lunges - 3 sets x 20 reps per leg




Tuesday (Shoulders and Abs)


Seated Military Press on the Smith Machine - 6 sets as follows 20 reps (warmup just the bar), 15, 12, 10, 8, 8 (If you are at home, you can do a seated Shoulder Press)


Superset
Weight Plate Front Raise - 3 sets x 12 reps (or use dumbbells)
Barbell Upright Row - 3 sets x 15 reps (or use dumbbells)


Superset
Incline Rear Delt Flye - 4 sets x 12 reps
Rope Face Pull - 4 sets x 15 reps


Crunches - 4 sets x 25 reps
Planks - 1 min hold on elbows, repeat 5 times
Oblique crunches (elbow to opposite knee) - 4 sets x 20 reps


Wednesday (Back and Abs)


Wide grip pull down - 4 sets x 15, 15, 12, 10 reps
(If you are at home, you can use a pullup bar on your door frame.)


Close grip pull down - 4 sets x 12 reps (slow and controlled - again if at home, use a pullup bar)


One arm dumbbell row - 4 sets x 12 reps (per arm)


Dumbbell Pullover -  4 sets x 15 reps


Hyperextensions - 4 sets x 15 reps


V-ups - 3 sets x 20 reps
Stability ball roll ins - 3 sets x 10 reps

Thursday (Quads, Calves and Glutes) - all gym but if you want an alternative, email me


Superset
Barbell front squat - 3 sets x 12, 12, 10 reps
Heavy barbell hip thrusts (I use a smith machine here because I can't lift with my arms what I can in this exercise and I usually workout without a spotter/help) - 3 sets x 15 reps, squeeze at the top and if this hurts your hip bones, use a pad on the bar or towel


Leg Extensions - 5 sets x 12 reps


Triset
Barbell walking lunge - 3 sets x 12 reps (per leg)
Bodyweight walking lunge - 3 sets x 12 reps (per leg)
Body weight bench step ups - 3 sets x 12 reps (per leg)


Superset
Leg Press - 3 sets x 15 reps
Calf leg press - 3 sets x 20 reps (change your toe position each time, inward, straight, and outward)


Triset
Dumbbell Sumo Squat on boxes - 3 sets x 15 reps
Lateral side band walk (band around ankles) - 3 sets x 15 steps (per side)
Seated calf raise - 3 sets x 20 reps


Friday (Chest, Arms, Abs)


Chest Press (with machine, dumbbells, or barbell depending on your level) - 4 sets x 12 reps


Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 sets x 12 reps


TrisetRope Triceps Pushdown - 4 sets x 15 reps
Dumbbell Overhead Tricep Extension - 4 sets x 15 reps
Close Grip Pushup -  4 sets x 10 reps


TrisetBarbell curl - 4 sets x 12 reps
Dumbbell Hammer Curl -  4 sets x 15 reps
Preacher Curl Machine -  4 sets x 10 reps


Weighted Crunches - 4 sets x 15 reps
1 minute plank hold on elbows - 5 sets
Flutter Kicks -  4 sets x 20 reps


Saturday (Shoulders and Abs)


Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 4 sets x 8 reps


Dumbbell Lateral Raises - 4 sets x 10 reps


Dumbbell Front Raises - 4 sets x 10 reps


Bent over Dumbbell Rear Delt Flye - 4 sets x 10 reps


Superset
Alternating Lateral dumbbell raise - 4 sets x 8 reps (per side)
Alternating front dumbbell raise - 4 sets x 8 reps (per side)


Upright dumbbell row - 4 sets x 15 reps


Exercise Ball Tuckup - 3 sets x 15 reps
Exercise Ball Crunch - 3 sets x 25 reps

Soulful Sunday - Healing

So I am steering in a different direction today for a Soulful Sunday post and focusing on spiritual health.  This is a piece of myself I work on daily and I feel can always improve and grow.  Today as I sat in the sermon my pastor delivered, it laid on my heart to share a testimony of healing with you.  If you followed my blog in the past, you have heard this story, but He is speaking to my heart today and I think someone needs to hear it again. 


So as I said, today's sermon was about healing.  Healing is a broad topic, because it can range from healing a hurting heart to disease to the lost, broken soul.  God's healing comes in so many ways.  He can heal instantaneously or He can heal ultimately by taking us home to be with Him.  Pastor Mark put it best today when he said it is not the "how" of the healing, but the "who."  I am going to share my own personal story today of healing.  I hope it does something for who ever it is that needs to hear this.  Know that you aren't alone.  You may not need the same sort of healing, but hopefully it will resonate with you in some way.


So my story begins almost 8 years ago.  Michael and I had been married a little over a year and decided we wanted to start our family.  We were young, reasonably healthy people, so this should be easy for us, right?  Well that was wrong.  We spent several years hiding a secret that try and pray as we might, we couldn't start the family that we desperately wanted.  I guess I questioned why when so many people have babies they don't want, why we couldn't have one when that's all we wanted.  I guess I felt like it wasn't fair to watch the news and hear about cases of abuse, neglect, and abandonment and me be left here so empty.  But I continued to pray.  I didn't realize where those prayers were going to take me.


After the years passed us by, we decided to talk to our doctor.  Blood work, painful tests, and countless pills later, another year had passed and we weren't any closer.  So we were referred onward to a specialist that could hopefully help us.  We also decided to approach adoption as hope for a biological child seemed lost at this point.  We were continuously told there was nothing wrong with either of us.  How can that be when you aren't working as the body is designed to work?  But it is all we were told.  So we marched forward with countless tests, procedures, more pills, shots that could range anywhere from twice to 5 times per day and more doctors appointments in there than I care to count.  In the mix was a loss resulting in an out patient surgery leaving me feeling more empty than ever.  How could I have been pregnant going in and leave with nothing?  I actually remember looking at the biohazard box and wondering, is that what they do with my baby?  Crazy I know, but I was in a very weird place at that point.


During all this we were going through adoption classes, home studies, and putting together our life in a binder to try and adopt.  It was a very surreal experience, but I learned so much and am thankful for the heart God gave me for adoption.  I don't judge a birthmother for her decision any longer.  I applaud her.  She goes and does something bigger and outside herself and gives her child a beautiful life and with the power of open adoption, no one ever has to lose touch or where they came from.  After watching a friend now seek out some answers about who he is, I can't be a bigger advocate for openness.  But even with a new heart, it was broken, by two failed attempts.  One we had to turn down and the other we were turned down, or maybe not turned down, but she decided to not place. 


Over 6 years I walked through these dense forests of wondering and questioning what the heck had I done?  But I never stopped praying and hoping.  I was going to be a mom and I knew it.  I didn't know how and I certainly didn't plan on this time line.  I tried to smile every day and keep my head up and pray any time I started hanging my head, because those days felt like I was walking barefoot through broken glass that was on fire.  Some days I felt like I was in the middle of a crowded room screaming and no one was paying any attention.  But I still prayed every day that the next day would be the day....and then this happened.

My sweet Ashton was born after the last medical procedure we could afford to try.  And 17 months later Ava would come into our lives with no medical intervention whatsoever.  My family was growing rapidly and I was healed.  I was no longer empty.  I didn't plan on the how.  I don't guess anyone I would sit in the clinics or adoption classes with ever does.  But I never lost sight of the who even when it was hard.  If you are suffering today, I challenge to open your heart to God and talk to Him.  He may not heal you today of whatever it is that you are suffering from, but one thing He will do the moment you ask is Forgive and Save.  Hope lies in that forgiveness and salvation.  Faith will guide you through to the ultimate healing whenever that is set to come.  It may be through doctors, instant, or through the ultimate healing of going home, but He will be there every step of the way if you just reach out.  You never have to walk alone.  Please witness my miracle, because it was just that.  When doctors can't find anything wrong in why my body wasn't behaving correctly, maybe He was trying to teach me something.  I learned so much about myself, my faith, my marriage, and my heart for adoption and my openness to share this testimony.  I am perfectly ok with God making this example out of me, because it was through this I learned the value of His timing and His healing.


I hope you are inspired by this post and it touches someone.  I keep all of you in my prayers every night and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  If you are hurting and want a special prayer said, just let me know.  My challenge to myself this week is to continue to work on my prayer fitness as well as physical fitness.  And don't think I am just Healed and done.  God's still working on me for sure :)


Love you all more than you know!  And thank you for reading this momma's little notes for the day.


Misty

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

These are a little muffin from heaven!  They rank in around 105 calories a piece and kill a sweet tooth with complete satisfaction guaranteed!  I adapted a recipe from SkinnyMom to incorporate a Truvia brown sugar blend to save a little more calories and carbs and it was what I had on hand.  If you don't, just use the full blown stuff.  You are getting 1/4 tsp per serving so it is quite small in amount.


This recipe yields 24 servings or 24 muffins, so make sure as you portion out your batter you are doing it in small bits.  You can always go back and add more, but its hard to move it around if you run out before you fill all your cups!

Ingredients

• 6 teaspoons of brown sugar Truvia blend
• 1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks in 100% juice (need 24 pineapple chunks), reserve 1 cup of juice which will basically be the whole can's worth of juice
• 12 maraschino cherries, sliced in half and stem removed
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and generously coat two 12-count muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of truvia blendin each muffin tin.
3. Cut 24 pineapple chunks in half, and lay 2 halves in each muffin tin with the narrow ends touching, so it resembles a bowtie.
4. Place 1 cherry half in the center of the pineapple “bowtie” where the narrow ends meet, then set the tins aside.
5. With an electric mixer on low speed (or the whisk attachment on a stand mixer), beat together the cake mix, applesauce, reserved pineapple juice, and the eggs until smooth and incorporated, 2 minutes.
6. Pour the batter evenly in the set-aside muffin tins, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 minutes.
7. Allow to cool in the muffin tins, then run a butter knife or a straight spatula along the edges and carefully invert onto a baking sheet, so the bottoms of the cakes are now the tops

Let me know what you think!

Misty

Workout of the Day: Let's HIIT the Floor

So Sunday is typically my rest day or optional cardio.  Since a cold or some other sort of plaque has run all through our house I have missed a few workouts by either being sick myself or taking care of sick babies, so today we are going to get back at it with a good high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout to get the blood flowing and the heart pounding.  Not familiar with HIIT?  A HIIT workout is usually done with short interval bursts at 90–95% of your max heart rate for no more than 60 seconds (sometimes not even a full 60).  According to Michele Olson, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at Auburn University-Montgomery, the payoff of HIIT is that "you’ll get about the same fitness benefits in 10 minutes as you would jogging for a half hour."  So quicker benefits and less running?  Sign me up, because confession...I hate running.  HIIT allows me to not have to run for hours and still reap benefits, including maintaining good muscle shape in my legs and glutes.  If you need an example of how that works, look at a marathon runner versus an Olympic sprinter to see the different compositions of their lower bodies.


If you  have a treadmill at home, you can use that or of course one at the gym.  No access to a treadmill?  Find a spot outside that will have you running up a slight elevation (or a hill if you feel particularly good today).  This workout is about all out effort for short durations so make sure you pick a spot that is challenging.  We will also be hitting legs and glutes in the process so its a 2 for 1 win.  An optional workout for those that have access, is either a TurboFire or Shaun T's Insanity.  These both incorporate HIIT training and will leave you sweating!  If you have tried Beachbody workouts before and would like to, let's chat.  But if you want to try what I am doing today....here we go!


Grab yourself a good heavy set of dumbbells for this and head to your treadmill or outside.  The dumbbells should be heavy enough that you struggle with the last 3 steps/reps.  Your legs and glutes are larger muscles, so challenge them and yourself. 

HIIT-ing the Legs & Glutes Because Summer Ain't Over!!
5 min.	Treadmill walk	3-4 mph (brisk if you are outside)
50 sec.	Sprint	6-9 mph (Can't hold a conversation pace if you are outside)
1min.	Walking lunge	10-20 steps/leg (off treadmill with weights)
50 sec.	Sprint	6-9 mph
1 min.	Walking lunge	10-20 steps/leg with weights
50 sec.	Side shuffle (right side)	3-4 mph (if you are new to these start out around 2.0)
1 min.	Side lunge with dumbbell (right)	10-15 reps
50 sec.	Side shuffle (left side)	3-4 mph
1 min.	Side lunge with dumbbell (left)	10-15 reps
50 sec.	Sprint	6-9 mph
5 min.	Treadmill walk	3-4 mph

If you really want to burn out your glutes and legs after try wall sits for 60 secs each for a total of 5 reps.  Stand with your back against the wall and slide down until your body has taken the shape of sitting in a chair (without one under you!) and your back is still against the wall.  Hold for 60 seconds and then return to standing for a 30 second rest before starting the next one.  If your quads aren't shaking and burning, then you are all of our hero! :)   For a good glutes after burn, try donkey kicks with a dumbbell behind your knee.  You can google a video on how these are performed or I can record a video for you guys if you'd like. 


If you aren't into this type of exercise and have access to a gym or rower, then try a rowing ladder.  Row for 2 calories, get off and do 2 burpees.
Row for 4 calories, get off and do 4 burpees.
Repeat this every 2 calories all the way to 20. By 20 burpees, I can guarantee you will be sweating!


Let me know how you made it through today's workout and how you felt! 


Love ya'll!!  Happy Sunday!

So what's all this talk about macros??

So let's talk about macros.  What the heck does it even mean?  Do I need them?  Are they scary?  Ok maybe you don't have that last question, but macros and the number crunching you hear fitness gurus doing can get a little overwhelming, so let's break it down to the basics.


Macros are what is known as macronutrients.  Macronutrients are required by every organism to sustain life and there are three major macros:  protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  Each of these three are an essential part of the human diet to live.  You have probably seen varying diets that remove one of these, typically fats or carbs.  While this might work in the short term, it isn't sustainable for life.  Your body needs healthy fats for your hair, skin, nails and at times energy stores.  Carbs are essential to energy and powering through workouts.  They are also essential in recovery after a hard muscle building workout as they can help get glycogen back to the muscle and, when consumed with protein, begin to rebuild that muscle stronger and larger.  Muscle breakdown and rebuild are crucial for creating a certain shape or physique, but requires all these macros.


So now that you know what macros are, how do you incorporate them into your diet?  Aren't calories what count?  Well yes and no.  Weight loss is essentially a mathematical formula of calories in versus calories out, but the quality of those calories can be huge in how you want your body to shape itself.   And if you are looking to gain lean muscle, then your mix and caloric intake can be quite different then just x + y = xy.  Did you know that 1 gram of protein or 1 gram of carbs equates to 4 calories while 1 gram of fat equates to 9 calories?  So what does that mean?  It means it would take your body an activity that would expend 4 kilocalories worth of energy burn.  That's essentially what a calorie is and how it is measured.


Now that I have thrown that math at you, let's keep going.  Finding a solid mix of macros is helpful in your goals at the gym and it looks different for everyone.  Some people do well with equal mix of protein and carbs, and lower fats.  Something like a 40% Protein, 40% Carb, 20% Fat mix.  Others need less carbs and more fats.  I tend to recommend starting with the 40-40-20 mix and make small adjustments as your body responds or stalls.  Now what are those percentages coming from?  They come from your overall calories.  So if you set your calories at 1500, your break down would be as follows:


(1500 * 0.40)/4 = 150 which is 150 grams of protein and 150 grams of carbs
(1500 * 0.20)/9 = approximately 33 grams of fat


So each day you would try to set goals (using an app like MyFitnessPal is very helpful for tracking) to eat about 1500 calories with 150g of Protein, 150g of Carbs, and 33g of Fat.  As a side note, I would also try to stay at 35 to 40 grams of sugar or below.  Sugar will derail your progress quickly!


Now how does one arrive at their total caloric intake?  There are several online calculators to help you determine this.  A good one is here on Bodybuilding.com. Be very honest when setting the activity level, meaning if you sit at a desk job all day like I do, but you are pretty intense in exercise, I would select Moderately Active because most of your day is sedentary.  If you are on your feet all day and exercise on top of that, then select appropriately.  You can set your macros based on your goals.  I would recommend keeping protein levels between 1 to 1.5 grams of your body weight at a minimum if you want to maintain or gain lean muscle mass.  And I don't recommend ever going below 100 grams of carbs to keep your energy levels up to power through workouts.  Also for lean mass gains, you will need to add calories to your diet.  To lose weight, you will need to remove some calories, or increase your workouts (this kind of varies from person to person), so please message me if you need help with this.


Now if you are feeling adventures and want a more advanced macro calculator (that I honestly think is more accurate) try this one at Cori-Fit's website.  Keep your protein at the suggested levels and then you can adjust your fats and it will set your carbs.  If you want help with this, contact me and I will help you with the calculator and making adjustments.  Everyone's macro mix is different and I would love to coach you individually along the way if I can, including providing you with some Excel sheets to help you track your macros when meal planning.   I am going to make these available on the blog soon!  Remember this is all in conjunction with a fitness routine, so which abs are made in the kitchen, a total package is made in the gym (or home gym!)  You can maintain a solid fitness routine at home if that best fits your life and I can help you with that as well.  Look for routines to be posted here soon, but if you want a jump start, please message me.  My lack of blog spots shouldn't stand in the way of your goals :)


Now that I have explained macros a little, I know you have questions.  Would you guys like a video Q&A to answer these?  If so, leave your questions in the comments below and I will try and answer them all.  Please share with your friends and have them leave questions.  Let's spread the fit life around :)


Love ya'll!!


Misty

Healthy Tip #1: Meal Prep

So you see a lot of articles, a lot of Pinterest pins, and hear a lot of talk about meal prep, but what is it really all about and how can it benefit you and your family?  I feel like I need to dispel a few myths and confirm some things about meal prep. 


"If your meal prep looks like this, you will be prepared to fail."

While hilarious, this isn't meal prep.  And not knocking pizza or Dominos, because I think there is a time and place for it all (you will get more familiar with this in my Macros posts), but let's explore and 80/20 rule which works for most people.  That says 80% of the time you are a clean mean machine and 20% you chillax.  20% of a week equates to about a day and a half.  That's not a perfect metric for everyone, but for most, this will allow you to relax with the kids, have lunch out after church or a game, or just enjoy some cake and not tank your diet.  Meal prepping plays a huge role in this because you can plan ahead for the rest of the 5.5 days so you are ready and armed for battle against the bulge.  Now if you have a lot of weight to lose, or aren't seeing results, you may want to go a little more towards 90/10.  Or if your goals are to compete in fitness or attain a bodybuilder physique, then you will be much more limited.  But regardless of which goal you set, meal prep can help.

"Fail to plan, plan to fail."

Planning out your meals helps you stay on track.  How many times have you found yourself out and about, no snacks in your bag and you are starving, the kids are screaming, and you on the brink of insanity pull through the local drive-thru for a Mc-Whatever and then are angry at yourself for the choice you made?  We all do it.  It's life.  It is going to have happen.  But if you take some time to prep yourself, you won't be nearly as tempted.  Keep snack packs of almonds, Quest Bars, Protein powders, packets of peanut butter & brown rice cakes, a small apple, a banana, or lean beef sticks from Epic or Ostrim with you in your bag at all times.  If you are like me and have your 6 Pack Fitness bag attached to your hip, you can even keep cold treats like ready to drink (RTD) protein shakes, cheeses (yep healthy), yogurt, boiled eggs, or lean cuts of meat for your errand running, work, or daily life in general.  For me, I have spent the money and time purchasing and packing these items, so I eat them.  I am not generally a wasteful person, so I don't want to throw out the food I packed, so I stay on track and save calories and coins by not splurging on a Double Whip Frappuccino and a cookie.

"Meal prep takes TOO much time."

So meal prep takes time.  Can't get around that.  But here's the real deal.  You are going to spend the time prepping food at some point, whether you prep healthy foods for an hour or two on Sunday (best time to prep for me), or you cram into opening a quick fix meal every night of the week.  If you take time on Sunday to bulk cook meats, veggies, and a choice carb, be it rice, quinoa, or sweet potatoes, you are ready for the week.  I like to lay out a menu on Friday and gather up my groceries (Holler if you know the people at the Walmart Grocery pickup on a first name basis like I do?!?!?), and then Sunday after we get in from church, I throw on my favorite show (Currently WWE Breaking Ground or WWE NXT only on the WWE Network!) and away I go grilling chicken and throwing rice on the stove or in the rice cooker.  It's my time to relax and get my head in the game for the week.  If you really have a lot of time, see the next statement.

"The freezer is a meal prepper's bestie!"

So I use my freezer regardless of the prep.  I typically will grill or crockpot chicken, depending on how much time I have.  Then I will portion it into Ziploc baggies in 4 oz portions and I will leave out enough for say Monday and Tuesday in the fridge and freeze the rest.  Then I can just thaw it the night before I need it.  I do the same often with veggies and rice or sweet potatoes (my fav carb ever).  Here is a guide to storing your meats.  Cooking in bulk will save you so much time later on.  Throw that chicken in a crockpot with some water and spices and let it go for 8 hours on low.  Shred it and store and you can use it in salads, served with veggies, or for a family casserole.  If you have loads of time on the weekend, make up some freezer meals to store and pull out during the week.  These can be healthy casseroles, stews or soups, or even wraps and burritos. 

"Make it fun for the family."

Get the kids involved when  you prep so you aren't missing family time.  There is no reason why their little hands can't help make homemade protein bars or energy bits.  Not only will they have fun helping, but they will be so much more likely to eat the healthy treats too if they got to help in the process.  And there's no better lesson than teaching them to eat healthy.  This is balancing good parenting/teaching time with fun time, and for my kids they seem to absorb things taught via fun much better than any other way!

"Tailor the menu to your lifestyle."

If you are on a budget, tailor your menu to what is on sale for the week and tie items together.  So if chicken breast is on sale for $1.99/lb, stock up and bulk cook it.  Then think of ways to serve it multiple ways that work for you, such as a casserole on Monday/Wednesday and healthy chicken burritos on Tuesday/Thursday.  Make it work for you and your wallet.  If it is something that is sustainable, you will stick to it.  Hate chicken?  Go with seafood like tilapia, mahi mahi, or cod or even shrimp or scallops.  Vegetarian?  You can go wild with tofu or beans.  Consider a vegetarian meal once a week even if you do eat meat to help cut time and costs. 

Meal prep doesn't need to be scary or dominate your life.  It may seem a little cumbersome at first, but after a couple of weeks it will come naturally.  Take a look at the sample below of how I map everything out and see how easy it can be.  Mind you that this mirrors what I do and I eat about 5 meals per day.  So you may be more inclined to go 3 meals with 2 snacks or however you structure your day.  Just stay on point with where you should be calorie wise.  We cover macros and meals in another post so these can tick and tie together.  My meals won't necessarily be your meals, but we will cover that later.

For the guacamole, be sure to choose Wholly Guacamole's 100 calories containers or make your own.

Here are the links to Jamie Eason's Recipes:

Jamie Eason Monster Meatloaf

Jamie Eason Meatloaf Muffins (I eat these with reduced sugar ketchup).

Jamie Eason's Sweet and Sour Chicken  I use stevia/truvia instead of the splenda and arrow root powder isn't necessary, but will thicken it.  You could probably substitute cornstarch, but I haven't experimented with that as of now.

Happy Eating!!!

Misty

Pre-Thanksgiving Recipe Share

So I want to share all my Thanksgiving recipes with ya'll, except the point where I will have pictures will be that day, and way too late for you all to prep and prepare!  So This post is just going to be a mixture of recipes that you can have on your Thanksgiving day table, and posts with pictures will follow soon.  If you have questions, or want to know how something should look, don't hesitate to ask in the comments or message me on Facebook!


First thing of course is the bird!  No matter how you cook it, you gotta brine that baby!  It locks in all the juiciness and keeps the turkey from getting dry when cooking.  This is the brine I use, but you can play around with several acidic options.  I encourage you to check out Ree Drummonds Maple Whiskey brine.

Turkey Brine
Ingredients

• 2 quarts (8 cups of water)
• 3 cups of apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of salt
• 1/2 cup of sugar 
• 3 Tbsp black peppercorns
• 5 bay leaves
• 5 cloves of minced garlic
• peels from 2 red apples
• peel of one orange
• juice of 1 orange
• leaves stripped from 3-4 sprigs of rosemary

Directions

• Add all these ingredients to a large stock pot and bring to a boil.
• Allow to cool completely and store in the fridge until ready to use.
• When you are ready, place your turkey in a large pot and pour in the brine.  Cover the remaining turkey with cold water and store in the fridge until ready to cook.  Recommend leaving it in the brine for about 24, but no longer than 48, hours.

Next on point is the dressing!  Who doesn't love a good cornbread dressing if you are from down south??  

Southern Girl Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of cornbread (typically use a 9'' cast iron skillet to prepare mine)
• 7 slices of dried white bread ( you can dry in the oven or on the counter overnight)
• 1/2 a stick of butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups of chopped celery
• 7-8 cups of chicken broth (this is give or take, you will want it to be fairly wet, but it's all going to depend on how your bread mixture soaks up the broth)
• 5 whole eggs, beaten
• 1 sleeve of saltine crackers, crushed
• 1 Tbsp of poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• Let me confess on the spices, I often do a taste test pre-adding the eggs, you may want to do the same.

Directions

• Preheat the over to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine cornbread (crumbled), crushed crackers and white bread (you can tear it in pieces if you like).  Set to the side.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet and cook the onion and celery over medium-high heat until soft.  
• Pour the veggies over the bread mixture.
• Add about 7 cups of the broth and mix well.  Add the seasonings and taste the mixture.  Adjust as needed.  You can also adjust the moisture level here too, if it is too dry.  You want it slightly soupy, but remember you still have to add the eggs.
• Add in the eggs and mix well.
• Reserve 3 heaping Tbsp to use for gravy thickening.
• Pour the mixture into a 9x13 pan an bake for 45-50 minutes.

My gravy recipe is an altered version of giblet gravy.  I don't use giblet's.  Eww....

Gravy Baby

Ingredients

• 4 cups of chicken broth
• reserved dressing
• 2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 1 boiled egg
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

• Using a large pot, bring broth to a boil.  Add in dressing and poultry seasoning.
• In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch and water and mix.
• Stirring constantly, add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling mixture. 
• Reduce heat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. 
• Add salt and pepper to taste and top with boiled egg.

Because it wouldn't be a holiday without it....

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (10 ¾ oz)
• 2 cans Green Beans, drained and rinsed (14 ½ oz)
• 1 1/2 cups french fried onions (or more...you decide!)
• ¾ cup  evaporated milk
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the soup, milk, green beans, pepper and 2/3 cup fried onions and stir to mix.
• Pour into a casserole dish and bake for about 30 minutes, or until mixture is bubbling.
• Stir and smooth out the top and sprinkle with remaining onions.  
• Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until onions are golden brown.

And it also wouldn't be a holiday without...

Macaroni and Cheese - Crockpot Style

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp)
• 1/2 cup full fat sour cream
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

• Boil the macaroni in water until al dente and drain.
• In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.
• In slow cooker, combine cheese mixture, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper. Add the drained macaroni and stir again.
• Cook on low for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  (**Note here - it may cook much quicker.  My slow cooker cooks rather hot even on low so I would check it at around the hour mark.)

Mashed Potatoes - with a kick

Ingredients

• 5 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3 Tbsp prepared horseradish
• 2 Tbsp whole milk

Directions

• Put the potatoes into a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are fork tender. 
• Drain the water from the potatoes.
• Mash the potatoes with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl. Add the sour cream, butter, horseradish and season well with salt and pepper.  Add milk as needed for a creamy texture.

And to finish up....

French Silk Pie

Ingredients

• 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 cup butter, softened (I use salted.)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 baked pie shell (I use a packaged shell and bake it off in the oven, but you can make your own if you wish - or have time!)

Directions

• In small microwave safe bowl melt 4 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Once chocolate is cool, add it to the butter and sugar mix.  Add vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined using a whisk attachment.
• Using medium speed, beat in the eggs, but you will space them 5 minutes apart.  So add in first egg, wait 5 minutes (still beating) and then add in the next, and repeat until all 4 eggs have been added.
• Fill the pie shell with the mixture and place in the fridge overnight.  
• Serve with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.
• Remember these pies do contain raw eggs, so use caution if you have little or pregnant guests.

And if you so choose to top your pie with whipped cream....

Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar 

Directions

• Whip the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted using whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 4 minutes. 
• Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; continue whipping on medium speed until the soft peaks return, 2 to 3 minutes. 
• Use immediately.
• Cook's note - I place my mixing bowl in the freezer for a little bit beforehand. It helps to get the peaks going and not keep the cream liquidy.

Enjoy all that cooking!!  Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Love 

The A Team