Medifast Pancake Muffins

So the hubs and I have been trying to lose some weight and a friend got me hooked up with Take Shape for Life, a program geared toward improving your overall health with a focus on weight loss and nutrition. TSFL uses the Medifast portion-controlled meal replacements to help with weight loss and gradually transitions to regular food with healthier habits. Over the past couple months I've tried a number of different Medifast products and also experimented with a handful of recipes that use the Medifast meals. Sometimes I get sick of the repetition of the same meals, so it's fun to test out recipes that alter them slightly or transform them into a different type of meal. I'll post some of the recipes I've gotten from other bloggers and my results soon, but for today here's one of my own creations.

One of the big no-nos on the Medifast plan is bread so obviously if you are used to eating a lot of bread products, it can be kind of a bummer. I made a "muffin" using the Medifast Original Pancake mix because sometimes I just don't feel like eating an actual pancake. It was quick, simple to make and a delicious breakfast alternative.

Pancake Muffins

(Servings: 2 medifast meals with 1/2 condiment each or 3/4 condiment each if you use sugar-free syrup)

2 Medifast Pancake packets (any flavor)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all ingredients (I use the blender bottle). Spray two cups of an extra-large muffin tin with cooking spray. Divide the mixture between the two cups. Bake 18-20 minutes.

I poured about 1/2 tbsp of Walden Farms Pancake Syrup on a plate and cut the muffin in half and dipped it in the syrup but you could use just about any spread you wanted that complies with the plan. I know you can make pancake muffins in the microwave but I've noticed that a lot of the meals taste better when I bake them in the oven. I personally liked this better and it would easily slice in half for to use for a breakfast sandwich alternative. 

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Lamp Transformation

Our living room is a giant work in progress, but I made one small step recently with a new lamp for our end table. The awesome guy who custom made our kitchen cabinets agreed to make us a small end table/cabinet for our tv components. It has a glass door so you can still use the remotes, but everything is neat and contained, which is the opposite of what it was after the living area was first renovated.

I recently found a GIANT consignment store near our house and I've been going in about once a week checking around for good deals. Last week I decided to see if they had any lamps for cheap and happened upon this little lady who was just begging for some spray paint.

Not that I don't love peachy-mauve... but it wasn't going to work in my house without some new paint. I liked the shape and it was working fine so I figured some spray paint love and a new shade would do the trick. The shade that came with it was so dirty and ugly I left it at the store. I covered the important parts with tinfoil, primed it and gave it two light coats of Rustoleum Heirloom White. 

And here she is now...

Did I mention this lamp was $10 at the consignment shop?!? The shade was $20 at Target and if it looks just a little shiny, it's because I hadn't completely decided if this was the one when I took the picture so it was still wrapped in plastic :) For $33 including the lamp, shade and can of spray paint, I have what I really wanted at a third of the cost. I saw a similar lamp online at Ballard Designs, but with two small (and sometimes clumsy) children, I don't need a $219 lamp in our main living area! 

Now I need to figure out the wall behind the sofa and we'll be on our way to finishing this room (at least for now!)

I'm still so happy when I look at the before and after...

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Spring In My Step

I know it's still snowing in a lot of places but here in sunny southern California, it's been spring for a while. So I decided it's time to come out of hibernation! I love to use fresh flowers to give some new life to our home. I got the flowers at Trader Joe's, one of the best sources for reasonably priced flowers.

I found the parsley and sage hanging boxes at Homegoods and I couldn't believe my luck. I had seen them in Layla's kitchen on The Lettered Cottage and loved them for so long. Then I was just strolling through Homegoods and there they were!

I love the bright green and yellow of the tulips when you first walk in the door. We still have little hands in this house that like to pull things off of tables so I don't put much within reach but this simple arrangement makes the entry feel much more welcoming.

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On Hiatus

The past month has been chock full of transitions for our family. In a matter of three weeks, my "baby" boy moved out of the crib into a toddler bed, gave up the bottle, and started showing interest in potty training. Oh and he turned two years old!

Despite a fun solo getaway for my birthday to visit my sister in San Francisco, I've been feeling just a little overwhelmed by all this change. I'm usually pretty good at rolling with the punches but as I told some friends recently, I feel like my hand was forced on some of these big transitions and so I wasn't as psychologically or physically ready to handle them as I would have liked. I suppose that's the nature of parenting but still it's sent everything else out of whack.

I haven't been able to put the energy into writing posts or even finishing projects that I need to and yet the blog is always in the back of my mind. So last night I decided that I need to take a break from blogging for just a couple months so I can get back on track in other more important areas of my life. I hope you will keep checking in and come back once I'm writing again. I hope that when I do come back I will have plenty to share!

Food Storage Revamp

Today I had the chance to go grocery shopping by myself. You know you are a mom of small children when going to the grocery store alone feels like a vacation! I went to Trader Joes which makes the experience even better because these days shopping at TJs with my kids is a nightmare. The aisles are so small and it's always crowded and my little ones' arms seem to reach sooo far. 

Anyway... I went shopping and when I got home and put everything away, I realized that it's high time for a little fridge/freezer/pantry reorganization. I grabbed a few pictures for inspiration off Pinterest. There were a lot of great ideas for french door style refrigerators but we have a traditional side by side so I tried to stick with pictures showing the same layout.

*Please pin these from the original source. It takes a few seconds extra but directs people to the real source that deserves the credit.

 Rubbermaid Blog

Real Simple

Ask Anna

Squawkfox

I included the last example even though it's french door style because it has some good tips about actual food storage and not just how to keep things from falling all over the place. 

Now in the name of keeping it real, here are the before pix of my fridge and freezer. I love them being full, but hate that all the organizing I've done in the past has kind of fallen to the wayside. 

Umm.... whoa. The freezer looks like it could all come tumbling out at any minute. 

After some strategic rearranging and cleaning the shelves, drawers and walls of the fridge and freezer, here are the after photos. 

I used some white plastic bins from Ikea and Target to corral the lunch meats, yogurt and snacks since those things seem to quickly spread out and take over. I had the plastic bin meant for juice boxes which I used for a few randoms since we don't typically have a lot of juice boxes on hand. 

I removed the fruits and veggies from their plastic bags so we could not only see what we have in the bins but also how much is left.

Amazingly I didn't have that much expired food to toss. I go through everything quickly almost every week the night before the trash gets picked up so pretty much what we had was useable. I did get rid of a bunch of packaging just to clear out space. It's also easier to see what you have if it's not in a box.

I'm very happy with the results and it's a great way to start the week feeling so organized! 

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A Gift For A Lifetime

I love opening presents. I think it makes me feel a little bit like a kid again, remembering all the anticipation that would build before a birthday or Christmas morning. My own children are at the point where the process of opening almost overshadows the gift itself. This past Christmas, we could barely contain my daughter as she sped from one package to the next. I get it. Really I do. But I'm also old enough experienced enough to know that peeling off the paper is a momentary thrill while the gift itself holds the real value (well, usually).

Even the best gifts rarely have true lasting power. I don't mean to sound pessimistic or ungrateful, but the truth is clothes will go through wear and tear, gift cards get spent, make up gets used up. Even my fabulous macbook from last Christmas will at some point need to be replaced (hopefully not for a long, long time). But this year, my sister gave me a gift meant to last a lifetime.

My Prudent Advice by Jaime Morrison Curtis is a sort of fill-in-the-blanks journal meant to be passed from a mother to her daughter. It's broken into sections like "On Friendship" or "On Being a Woman" and each section has a series of writing prompts that allow a mom to pass on her thoughts and/or advice to her daughter. There are also "free" sections where you can write about the section's theme without any specific prompt.

You could probably sit down and fill this book in a matter of months, but since my daughter is still so young, I plan to take my time over the next several years to finish. I think it would make a great gift for her 18th or 21st birthday or when she graduates from high school or even college. There's nothing inappropriate but some of the topics are a little more mature, which makes me think it would be a better gift for when she's older. Not that I didn't have a sincere interest in politics or education when I was 13... right, so you get my point.

I have already started writing in it and it makes my heart lurch just a little to think of my baby girl as a young woman reading what I've written to her. Although I hope to have a long time to share all these things, one bonus of the written word is that it has some serious staying power. That's also why I'm being careful and intentional about what I write. I want her to have a collection of my thoughts and advice that she can return to even after I'm gone someday. I'm very grateful to my sister for this gift and while I'm in no hurry, I look forward to the day when I can pass this to my sweet baby girl.

The Best of 2012

I thought that it would be fun to kick off 2013 by looking back at some of my best posts from 2012. A lot of blogs I read have been doing this and I personally really like seeing the highlight reel from the past year. So here are some of the favorites, both mine and yours (based on comments and pageviews). As always, I'm thankful to those who take the time to visit!

1. Banana Oatmeal Muffins 2. Fabric-covered drawers 3. Linen Closet Makeover 4. 31 Days Series 5. Fall Front Porch 

6. Kids Craft Packs 7. Medicine Cabinet Reorganization 8. Master Bedroom Closet Overhaul 9. Kitchen Reveal