Eggplant Parmesan - Baked

This Baked Eeggplant Parmesan is a wonderful vegetarian dish and is almost like a meatless, noodle-less lasagna. Very yummy!  We like to serve with a side of baked zucchini coated in olive oil and garlic and garlic bread.

Prep time: About 20 minutes
Bake time: 1.5 hours
Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Medium to Large Eggplants


• Olive Oil


• 2 Large Eggs


• 3/4 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs


• 3 tablespoons Italian Seasoning


• Salt & Pepper


• 48 oz  Tomato Sauce  (I like 1/2 smooth and 1/2 chunky)


• 1 1/2 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese


• 1/4 Cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush 2 baking sheets with oil. ( Put foil over baking sheets for easy cleanup ).  Set aside.  Peel eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds.


2. In wide, shallow bowl, whisk 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of water. In another wide, shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. ( If you have finely shredded parmesan cheese you can also add it ).


3. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture and dredge in breadcrumb mixture to coat both sides. Place on baking sheets.


4. Bake eggplant until golden brown on bottom for 20 - 25 minutes.  Flip slices, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake again for 20 - 25 additional minutes.


5. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spread 2 cups of sauce along bottom of dish. ( Add a dash of Italian seasoning to the sauce ). Arrange half the eggplant over sauce. Cover with 2 more cups of sauce and then 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with another layer of sauce, eggplant and mozzarella cheese. Finish the top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.


6. Bake 20 - 25 minutes until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving

Low-Carb Pizza

Original Recipe by Linda

Crust: 

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 
• 2 eggs 
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder { I used 3/4 teaspoon - we like garlic }
• 8 ounces Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese, shredded

Toppings:

• 1/4 cup pizza sauce { I used 1/2 cup to cover the entire crust - this ups the carb count a bit }
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• Assorted toppings: pepperoni, ham, sausage, onions, olives, green peppers, bacon, etc. 
• Dash of garlic pepper or garlic powder and some Italian seasoning for top of pizza

Directions:

1. Put the softened cream cheese, eggs, parmesan cheese, seasonings and 8 ounces of mozzarella in a medium bowl. Mix with a spoon until well-blended. 
2. Spread the cheese mixture evenly in a well-greased 9x13" glass baking dish or a 9x13" rimmed baking sheet that is lightly greased and lined with parchment paper (see note below). 
3. Bake at 375º 20-25 minutes or until evenly browned, but not too dark. 
4. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Spread the crust with the pizza sauce, then the cheese and toppings of your choice. 
6. Lightly sprinkle with the seasonings of your choice. 
7. Bake at 375º about 15-20 minutes or until toppings are bubbly. 
8. Let stand a few minutes before cutting.

Makes 8 servings
Can be frozen

Per Serving: 304 Calories; 25g Fat; 17g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

Shakeology No Bake Cookies

Tonight I was craving something chocolate and sweet - a craving I don't often have.  Since I'm trying my best to stick with a healthy diet I decided to try some homemade no bake cookies made with all natural ingredients, including chocolate Shakeology.  I'm very impressed with how well they turned out!  And, the best part, two small cookies satisfied my chocolate sweets craving!

Recipe for No Bake Shakeology Cookies

• 1 cup chocolate Shakeology
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1 cup of natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup of honey

Simply combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  It is very thick so I recommend washing your hands, removing jewelry and digging in with your bare hands.  It's messy, but faster than with a wooden spoon.  Once all ingredients are combined, roll tablespoon size chunks into balls and place on a cookie pan.  ( I flattened mine a little bit for a more "cookie" type look. ) Place pan in the refrigerator for an hour to chill before eating for best results.  Makes about 24 cookie balls.

Organic Yumminess

Apples, Clementines and Avocado, Oh My!  All organic, all delicious!  The perks of eating healthy is that you can also eat yummy!  Brought to you by Costco.

My Fav - Tinted Burt's Bees Chapstick!

Jason says I'm addicted to chapstick.  I wouldn't call it an addiction - I'm just much happier with it.  Especially in the winter time.  Burt's Bees brand is my absolute favorite.  Especially the Burt's Bees Red Dahlia tinted lip balm.  I hate wearing lipstick, but throw a hint of color in some chapstick and you've got me sold!  My biggest issue is leaving it sitting out on the end table and coming into the living room to see one of the dogs eating it.  I need to work on that...but because of my "addiction" I always have at least 3 somewhere or another.

This Begins Today!

I'm very excited to being the P90X3 program today! We started the original P90X back towards the end of last year, but I ended up with an elbow injury ( not due to the workouts themselves )  and Jason with a shoulder injury so we had to take a couple of months off.  During that time X3 was released.  I'm very excited to give it a try and see how it is.  I'll find out here in a couple of hours.  The beauty of X3 is that it's the same great workout structure packed into only 30 minute workouts 6 days a week rather than the hour to hour and a half workouts in the original P90X.  Fingers crossed that I can keep up!

Secondhand Mammogram

So apparently this Goodwill in Louisville is doing mammogram screenings next week for a cheap fee to help low income women get checked out.  That's pretty cool!  I also found it kind of funny...but still, it's a great idea for the community!

Pink October

So, it's Pink October once again.  Once upon a time, I would have acknowledged the month and moved on with my next thoughts.  Now, October has a whole new meaning for me.  At one time it was about me walking for "the cure" as a generic term. Now, it's walking "for the cure" for me and my family.  It's amazing what a year will bring.  The first time I walked my first breast cancer walk, it was for a "good cause".  Now when I walk a breast cancer walk, it is for my Mom, my Grandma, my Great Aunt, and for Myself.  Who knew what a difference a year or two would make.

I do not necessarily support all of the foundations that claim to "support breast cancer", but I do try to do my part to show support where I can.  I do not actively donate to breast cancer organizations, mostly because I have yet to find one that genuinely gives to the cause at hand.  I do participate in Dirty Girl Mud Runs and some Komen Walks, just because it is a cause I believe in - but not necessarily because it's a entity I support.  At any rate - the month is upon us.  I will not ask anyone to donate to any specific organization - but I do ask that you do your research before you donate to ensure your money donation is going to the best possible place it can go to.  Your money does not need to go towards advertising and "swag".  It needs to go towards research, donations to those that can't afford mammograms, and awareness.  Without awareness, there is no initiative.  Without initiative, there is no prevention.  Without prevention, there is no cure.

Power 90 Completed!

Today marks the completion of our Power 90 program!  We only missed a few days ( those with the lines through them ) and most of those were replaced with another type of workout.  We  missed our deadline by one week since we took a rest week at week 11 - we were feeling a bit run down and it did us good to take a small break. It feels awesome to have completed it!  Now we have a rest week while we wait for our two pull-up bars to arrive. Once we get those installed in the ceiling and the tv swapped out for a larger one ( which we already have ), we'll be good to start P90X together!  I'm ready to Bring It!

Power 90 Losses:
Weight - 14.5 pounds
Waist - 4"
Hips - 2.5"
Chest - 3"
Arms - 1" each
Thighs - 2" each

Waiting for the Thaw - 30/365

Waiting for my frozen strawberries to thaw so I can add them to my cup of Danon Oikes plain Greek yogurt.  A great 130 calorie snack that helps curb ice cream cravings - which seems to be the only thing I always crave these days.

Shakeology - 20/365

This is what I look forward to every day for lunch. It may seem like a boring old diet drink - but it's not.  It is a meal replacement. It is full of natural vitamins, minerals and nutrients that the body needs on a daily basis. It DOES taste like a milkshake! I am not kidding. Lunch has become my favorite meal because of these bad boys.  It is called Shakeology. This one is the vanilla variety - there is also chocolate, tropical strawberry, greenberry and vegan alternatives.  The shake shown here is the Shakeology mixed with one cup of almond milk, 2 tablespoons of almond butter and six ice cubes, all blended into a perfect, yummy lunch!  And I do mean yummy!

Fruitful O's Cereal - 12/365

It turns out you can eat good for you and organically and still have a similar cereal to Fruit Loops!  Yes!  You heard me correctly - Cascadian Farms makes an organic cereal called Fruitful O's and they taste a LOT like Fruit Loops! I eat mine with almond milk and they are so GOOD!  Don't care for fruity cereal?  They also make a cheerio's alternative called Purely O's...!

Fruitful O's Nutrition Info (Image from Amazon.com)

Me and Buddy - 8/365

Buddy and I went on a 2 mile hike at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve.  It was a nice, overcast day, though humid.  I was hoping to get four miles in, but Buddy, being furry and large and not used to walking more than his yard, puttered out on me at about two miles.  Just as we were heading back to the parking lot he found a creek.  I let him get a drink and before I knew it he had plopped right down in the middle of it to cool off.  So we sat around for another 20 minutes waiting for him to quit dripping before I got him back in the car.  I think he enjoyed it though.

Hiking at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve (3/365)

Today Christina and I went on a four mile hike at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve, a local 170-acre non-profit nature preserve full of hiking trails, creeks and wildlife. I already put in my daily Power 90 workout, however the weather was almost spring-like, especially for July in Kentucky, so I couldn't pass it up.  Creasey Mahan is my favorite place to walk and hike locally.  We put in four miles and 10, 582 steps in just under two hours. We even jogged for probably a half a mile in short spurts (that's saying a lot for two people who have never jogged in their life).  Since I've been working out I've got so much more energy and in the evening I really don't feel like plopping down on the couch for hours of mindless tv like I used to...now I just want to find something to DO - and this was perfect!  It will definitely become a staple to our workout routine!  And I will certainly sleep good tonight...

Dirty Girl Mud Run - Team Breast Friends

On August 24th I will be participating in my first Dirty Girl Mud Run here in Louisville!  We have our "Breast Friends" team ready to get down and dirty!  I would like to invite anyone that wishes to join us to please do so!  You can join our Facebook DGMR group or you can go directly to the DGMR Registration page to sign up for the race.  If you wish to be a spectator and cheer squad, please come join us and cheer us on!

The 5K women's race takes place at Champion's Park at 2930 River Rd in Louisville KY 40206. Our team is Wave7 which starts the course at 9:30 am.

If you wish to display our team logo showing your support for our team you are welcome to purchase logo products in my personal CafePress store (with no cost markup).  Any donations you wish to give through our Team Site gives a portion of proceeds to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Wish us luck and we hope to have a good turnout both for our team race and our cheering section!

Mmmmmm Vanilla #Shakeology with Peanut Butter

We received our vanilla Shakeology this weekend and tried our first one on Sunday for lunch.  Yum!  We added some ice and a bit of peanut butter and it was yummy!  It kept me pretty full for the afternoon, too.  Jason still got a bit hungry so he's going to try to add a banana to his next time and see if that helps.  I look forward to the benefit and the ease of having a shake for lunch every day!

Four Weeks Down! #power90

I gotta say - I'm feeling pretty darn good after ending week four of Power 90!  I'm down 5 pounds and noticing size differences already. SO much more energy, too!  Loving it!

Lunch Break #power90

This is our new lunch break routine.  Jason and I are on day 25 of our Power 90 program trying to get ourselves in shape, finally. We plan to go straight to P90X after this.  We are waiting on our Shakeology to arrive and will soon be launching our own fitness blog just to keep up with our routines, progress, recipes, etc to help anyone else that may need a boost that is interested in the programs.  I'll provide more info on that once it's up and running.

Ducks and Stuff

I may have mentioned before that we had a wild mallard pair visiting the backyard pond on a daily basis.  Momma Mallard decided the floating duckhouse would be the perfect place to lay her eggs.  Last Wednesday Momma Mallard emerged with 14 ducklings in tow!  A week later they are starting to explore a little on their own, but still sticking really close to Momma.  We can expect them to be here for a couple of months before they grow their wings and fly off to do their own thing.  It's so awesome!  Here is Momma Mallard with 10 of the babies (the other 4 must have been on her other side):

I am now 3 weeks out from surgery and feeling great.  I'm pretty much back to normal aside from some remaining sensitivity, but my oncologist says that should go away within the next couple of weeks.  The pathology report came back good and they think they got everything.  I start radiation treatments next week to zap anything they  may have missed.  It's every weekday for 5 1/2 weeks.  The kicker of it is I drive 45 minutes one way to get a 2 minute treatment - ha!  Luckily there aren't many side effects from radiation, so the only things that might happen is a sunburn like area at the treatment location and possibly some fatigue towards the end of the treatment rounds. I start on Tamoxifin next week as well, which I will be on for 5 years as a preventative to the breast cancer recurring.  All in all, I'm pretty good to go!

I did make a good accomplishment last month regarding my Flickr Photography Scavenger Hunt.  For the first time in the 2 years I've been playing I actually completed a round!  And my challenge photos got the most votes, to boot!  A silly feat, but a fun one.  You can see all of my photos and the scavenger hunt list if you want.  :)

And now that we have our first day of no rain in I don't know how long, I'll try to get some updated duckling photos to post.  :)

Spring is in the Air!

Ahh spring is in the air!  In the last week I've actually been enticed enough to pick up the camera and snap some shots (see below). We had our first good thunderstorm of the year today and the grass is more green than brown again. Jason has been prepping the mower for his 6 acre mowing sprees and the garden is partially tilled.  This is, by far, my favorite time of the year.  New life, fresh smells and porch dwelling becomes the norm over tv watching - bliss!  I even sat on the back porch swing for a couple of hours yesterday reading and got quite a nice sunburn on my arms and face.  And finished a book too - on a windy day in broad day light - have I mentioned how much the Kindle rules?!

To regress a bit, at the end of February, one month after my 35th birthday, I had a routine mammogram.  The results landed me back in the Women's Diagnostic Center to do maginifactions due to microcalcifications that were found.  The next day led me to a breast biopsy.  And then the next day led me to a diagnosis of breast cancer. What?!  Yeah, that was exactly my reaction.  Fast forward two weeks later after an MRI and meeting with my surgeon and it was confirmed. Though I'm very lucky.  Diagnosis of DCIS grade 3 at a size of 3.1cm, which basically means non-invasive and caught at one of the earliest stages possible, much to my relief.  So I'm scheduled for a lumpectomy and sentinal node biopsy on April 14th, out-patient sugery, with 33 days of radiation and 5 years on Tamoxifin as a preventative.  All in all, not bad for what it is.  At this point I'm just waiting for the surgery to be done and recovery to begin.

In the meantime, I'm embracing spring!  We're making our summer plans, deciding what we are going to do with the yard, expanding the back deck and looking forward to our first spring and full summer at the new homestead, which we so love!  We see so much wildlife here it's awesome. And the peace and quite, compared to neighborhood living, is rockin'!

Speaking of wildlife and our awesome new homestead, here are a few photos to get a peak into our world.  :)