This Morning Blows!

The girls and I had an outing planned for this morning. We were meeting up with some of our oldest friends for a group play date at our favorite apple orchard. Kid F was really excited to see her best friends and I was really excited to get some cider and donuts..er.. I mean catch up with the moms... I had even gone online to find out how many calories were in those delicious sugar coated deep fried cakey wonders (200 by the way).

Well this morning everything was running fairly smoothly and then Kid F comes down the stairs saying her "tummy hurts". The thing is Kid F says this pretty much everyday. And yes I've talked to her doctors about it. I'm not sure what it is.. but usually after I remind her to go potty and then give her some breakfast she is feeling much better. Well not this morning. She went potty but still felt badly. I made her a peanut butter sandwich but she refused to have a bite. Already my red flags are going up. I give her her anti-seizure meds and ask her to sit by the bathroom while I take a shower.

Now if you don't already know this Kid Furious has epilepsy, she was diagnosed about a year ago after suffering 2 life threatening prolonged non-convulsive seizures. Here is the kicker they both started with her tummy feeling upset and then vomiting.

Soooo I'm in the shower washing my hair as quickly as I can thinking through how the hell I'm gonna be able to drive the car behind the freakin' ambulance since now I have a baby and they aren't going to let me ride with her! I get out and peek around the corner... she is fine. I put my pants on and she starts to gag. Like the total trooper she is she runs to the bathroom and throws up in the toilet. I'm of course starting to obsess over everything she is doing trying to decide if she is seizing or not. And no it isn't always easy to tell.. it wasn't until after half an hour when she started foaming from the mouth and lost consciousness that I knew it wasn't an upset stomach with her first seizure a year ago!

She seems lucid and I settle her in front of the tv with a bucket (we've got an unlimited tv when you're sick rule). But here is the problem... she threw up her meds... and I don't know how long they were in her system. If I re-dose her it could be too much for her... arrrggggh! So I cancel our play date and call the hospital. While I wait for their call I've hooked up our video monitor (thank you Angie!) so I can watch her while I take care of the Baby. Why does this stuff always happen when I'm home alone?!

UPDATE:
I got approval to re-dose the medicine. She has eaten and kept it down... in fact you'd think nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all today. She is feeling fine. Of course when it rains it pours and I am now off to the Doctor with the baby who has been tugging at her ear...

This Week The Plan

Okay I'm finally getting back on track and planning out my menus again.
Going out of town last week really threw things off since we returned midweek and with the whole car incident I really never got much further than unpacking my bags. This even spilled over into my workout schedule. As stoked as I was not to have gained while we were gone I have really struggled to keep my workouts going since getting back. Seemingly any type of break in my routine really makes it hard for me to pull it together... it is that whole control begets control... just in reverse. It is still so eye opening to see how easy it is to get off track! Tomorrow is a new day and a new week and I am planning to get back to business. I really feel better all around.. mood, energy level, general disposition... when I make these weekly plans. As unnatural as it was for me in the beginning.. the weeks I don't do it I don't ever feel like I have everything quite taken care of.. like I am hobbling along trying to catch up and then the week is over and I didn't workout as much as I wanted, or do the laundry, or clean... I really do feel much more chaotic. So lesson learned (again!) and here I go...

Monday: Strip Steak, green beans, roasted potatoes
Tuesday: Brown Sugar & Ginger Salmon, steamed broccoli & rice
Wednesday: Mr F & Kid F date night
Thursday: Steak Sandwiches on homemade bread, salad
Friday: Kid's Chicken Soup & bread
Saturday: go out to eat
Sunday: Salmon Noodle Casserole with embellished apple sauce & sauteed mushrooms

Also since things really have gotten crazy around the house lets see if a weekly plan can help with that too...
Monday: Laundry
Tuesday: Clean Bathroom
Wednesday: Clean Wood Floors
Thursday: Clean Tile Floors
Friday: Clean Kitchen
Alright I'm scared just thinking about doing all that... this will be a real challenge! (I'm sure Mr F is laughing his ass off right about now.. shut your trap!... I can do it!)

As for weight loss I'm not really expecting to be dropping much more weight. I'd really like to keep working at my body fat % goal though. I think my calorie range is pretty good where it is at so I'm just going to stick with the 1600-1800 range for now. I would really like to fit in some more strength training so this week I'm shooting for 2 full pilates workouts (about 45 min each) and 4 hours of cardio. I'd like to find the balance that allows me to increase my fitness while maintaining my weight. I'm willing to go down about another 2 or 3 pounds but then I think I need to work at finding the right calorie limit that allows me to maintain... we'll see it could take a few weeks for me to figure out where I'll need to be.

That's it... nothing terribly exciting... just me trying to get my life back in order.

Oh... here are some pics of my new shirt and earrings... click on them to get a better look (sorry I look a little crazy.. the photo booth feature does that)

Finally Someone Does What I Tell Them To!

My Mother who originally started emailing her food diary, along with my friend and I, 7 months ago has finally gotten on board for real this time and has seen a 3 pound loss this past week because of it! Heretofore she had been intermittently sending out her food diaries and had lost a few pounds and then regained them over the last couple of months but she wasn't really committed she was just going through the motions. She didn't really change how she ate or what she ate, just how much (some of the time), and she didn't change her activity level. Now finding herself back where she started and facing a big trip to Japan in a few weeks she wanted to get back on board and lose 10 lbs. So this time I asked her if she would just do what I told her to do and try it for a month. She agreed. We've gone through this more than once so I was SHOCKED when she actually followed through.. okay she didn't the first week but she did the second week and lost three pounds.
My mom is a classic emotional eater.. uses food to self medicate really... and she is a binge eater so some of the things that I do we had to cut out of her plan in order to keep her from sabotaging. Typically I'm a big believer in treats, but my mom can't have a box of chocolates or a freezer full of cookie dough and have just one. I am fortunate that this isn't my eating MO! So here is what I told her. I wanted her to weigh everything and count calories whenever possible... even when she thinks she knows them double check. (In the past she has been big on telling me "I know how many calories are in ____" ...well that's great... I do too but I measure and weigh to be sure I'm accurate. Let's face it you are only going to lose weight if you know exactly how much you are eating... *thinking* you know is how you got where you are! I wanted her to eat a 300 calorie breakfast... not one freaking banana cause she's not really hungry... "but I guess you were hungry 2 hours later when you had to get lunch at Taco Bell... eat the damn breakfast!" (Yes this is really how we talk to each other) So she is essentially to follow my plan minus the dessert, she says she doesn't need it. So she's eating 300, 100, 300, 100, 400.. or there abouts and yes I know it is 1200 calories, she is 55 and her metabolism is shot! I also wanted her to workout for at least an hour a day preferably an hour and a half. Boy oh boy did she balk at that. But I said, as I have many times, "what you have been doing hasn't worked I really think you need to exercise a lot to pick up your metabolism."

She attempted to submit some dieting clauses... these may sound familiar:

#1 "I Can't Do That"
As for the longer exercise she gave every excuse imaginable... including that the dogs get too tired after 45 minutes... the dogs?!?! "Drop the damn dogs off at home and keep walking!"... "Oh" she said.... I'm serious about the exercise folks, 45 minutes is not enough, try kicking out 60 plus minutes of cardio 5 times a week and you will see HUGE results.

#2 "What About A Day Off"
"You don't think you deserve a weekend off after a good week" My mom asked. "What?! stop messing with me mom!" I shouted into the phone. "I'm not...I'm serious" she said sheepishly. "NO I don't!" I retorted... You see it is something as simple as thinking you deserve a reward for being good that is indicitive of a sabotager. Your reward for being good is not being fat! If you allow yourself to earn treats... you are going to earn your way to one thing... your old goddamn lifestyle. Weight loss will only work if you change the way think about your relationship with food.

#3 "I Can't Start Today..."
Then she told me she couldn't start right away because she had a whole bunch of food in the garden. "Throw it out" "I will not throw it out I can't throw out perfectly good food" "Mom when you are a financially stable overweight woman you are still throwing it out... you are just throwing it in your gut instead of the trash" (light bulb moment people... take it in) I then told her to give it to a food pantry which she agreed she could do.

In the end she took notes and agreed to try it my way for the next month. Okay so her first week she was still challenging me... what else is new? Then she came to my house and noticed how much thinner I am now and said "I want a piece of that" went home and sucked it up and tried it my way... and what do you know?... boom... three pounds lighter! Let me just say this, I am incredibly proud of my mom. She sabotages herself for a living... and it is deep rooted! She said after she weighed in (only once a week) she was so elated and felt so proud that when she went to play bridge (a temptation disaster waiting to happen) she stopped on the way and had a double hamburger (330 cal) so she wouldn't be hungry and she could be in control of her calorie intake. This was a huge victory for her, typically she would skip lunch and then figure she could have all the snacks to make up for it. This time she felt in control and didn't give into the snacky temptations and left there feeling better than ever. Once you get going it is an upward spiral... control begets control. Try it! If my mom can do it you can do it. Give it one week. You can do anything for one week. This is not starvation... this is not impossible.. this is accounting for what you eat and exercising... that is all.

Style Why Do You Elude Me?

So while I was at the airport the other day wearing these...


I knew they weren't fitting right when I had to hold on to 'em while I was running to keep them from falling off. But sweet jesus.. I looked really bad. It is kind of hard to tell from these pictures (hint: click on the pics for a better view) but the butt looked like a big empty jean sack you could have put at least one more butt into. And I know you are all like "oh boo frickin' hoo Mrs F!" well let me tell you it didn't look good. I looked FRUMPY.. like the very definition of frumpy. And to make matters worse we were flying on a weekday morning so every other woman was in some kind of fancy suit. So when we were in the car on our way home I said to Mr Furious while looking down at the jeans that were rippling in the front "God I look terrible in these". Mr F replies "What do you mean?" And so I pointed out the huge folds of fabric that bunched up while I sat there and told him about my bathroom mirror experience and he says "Yeah they don't really look that good"... Well thanks for the heads up! Thanks for letting me wear these all around two states! Jesus christ I looked like I was heading out to the barn!

So here I am in some better fitting jeans... see.. I look about 20 pounds thinner!


Unfortunately these are the only pants I have that fit. Today my mission is to go through all my boxed up pre-pregnancy clothes and try them on. I was watching Tim Gunn's Guide to Style the other night and realized I have indeed been to hard on Missus Smarty Pants. Essentially they suggest the same thing.. establishing a basic wardrobe of "must haves" and then only a few trendy pieces. In theory I by into this idea... but I don't wear "slacks" or little black dresses. I actually get defecated on...daily. I don't do "dry clean only". And I don't have a thousand dollars to put into clothes that will look like they have gone to war by the end of the season. And by war I do mean if you went war with the Oompa loompas. The point is most of my clothes I buy in bulk from Target and Old Navy. If something fits I buy it in every color and yes I realize this makes me look like a grownup in Garanimals. This is why I need help. It isn't like I look like a complete abomination... it is just that I don't look good either. So what is a practical stay-at-home mom to do if she wants to look stylish? I mean isn't there some type of in between look out there? Are my choices really looking like I do or like I'm heading for work in a law office? Sure I could go to J Crew or The Gap and buy an outfit... I'm not that helpless.... but I want to have my own actual style that is geared toward my body... and I honestly don't really know what that is.

Breaking News!

Holy Crap!

Mr Furious's car was stolen from our driveway last night!

Yes we left the keys in it... because.. we are lazy bastards.

So if anyone sees a Red 2001 Volvo S60 with a Kakistocracy bumper sticker contact the authorities.

You can read Mr Furious's take on it HERE.


**************************************************************************************************************************
UPDATE:
Mr F's car was found .. and in perfect condition no less... less than a mile away at an apartment complex. Seems this was a joyride after all. Mr F is actually a little bummed since he had already started online car shopping...
Of course the bastard still has a set of keys so we'll have to block his car in with mine every night!

Well Call Me Astounded!

With a fair amount of hesitancy I stepped on the scale this morning and REJOICE I am actually down another .2 pounds bringing me to my all time low of ...

What a relief! Let me tell you there is just a wee bit of pressure when you post your weight loss in such a public format! I was already thinking through how a little weight gain was just another challenge to post about... but I am thrilled that that can all stay hypothetical at this point!

As you know I was very nervous about venturing outside of my controlled food environment and then with not working out.. I was fully expecting to go up a little. So maybe my metabolism is finally picking up?! I didn't go hog wild... when everyone else were eating bagels I only had half...I didn't eat most of the side dishes... but I did eat plenty of cake! I managed to keep my food diaries going (all but the last day) with the best calorie guesses I could make and was eating about 400 calories more a day. This might be a weight I could maintain at after all.

As an interesting side note Mr Furious gained 4 pounds. And not that I root for his dieting demise but it just goes to show that I have acclimated to actually eating in appropriate portions and eating consciously. On our drive to the airport he actually shoved a Grands Biscuit into his face (I mean in like literally 2 bites people!) and then turned into a Dunkin Donuts and walked out with a Big 'Ol Blueberry muffin. I said to him "just because you shove something in your mouth doesn't make it calorie free... are you even hungry?" Mr F responded by flashing a sheepish grin. That is going to be his hardest habit to break... he is quick to reach for an immediate hunger solution but often makes an impulsive and unsatisfying choice and then still wants to eat something else.

I was just watching the Biggest Loser from the other day and there is a female contestant who gave in to a food temptation and was just jamming food down. She ate an entire cereal bar in one bite! True... that was extreme... but it did remind me of how a lot of people approach eating... especially Mr F! There are times when I'm about to serve dinner and he is reaching for a snack because he is crashing and can't contemplate waiting even 2 minutes for food. But you better believe he eats just as much at dinner 2 minutes later as he would have. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I used to be the same way... I just used soda as my quick fix. Now I eat about 6 times a day. I eat 300, 200, 300, 200, 400, 200 calorie meals or snacks in a typical day. I am rarely hungry and when I am ... I eat. I don't drink any calories except in my morning coffee.. and I have learned to have an energy bar in the car where I need it! I almost never *crash* anymore. And it really isn't hard to do this, you just need to find your treats and snacks and stick with them.. so you can stop sabotaging yourself.

We're Back!

Hey Mrs Furious what's that?

What this old thing?

That's right... it is my completely unpacked bag! I actually unpacked everything... and put it all away no less... within an hour of our return. This my friends has never happened before. The Furiouses typically leave our bags within steps of our back door and then dig threw them spewing their contents all around for DAYS... if not weeks... before we actually *unpack*. And even then often some weird shit is left in the bags until we get them out for our next trip.


Oh you didn't mean that.... you meant this....

That is the mother fucking llama that spit directly into my face yesterday! As if staying with my in-laws wasn't bad enough!

Ah... it is good to be home...

Sorry Guys!

It has been much harder than I imagined to use my in-laws computer (under the cloak of night no less) as I must do it with great speed so as not to have anyone find me and start reading over my shoulder! ;)

Let me just say I will be astounded if I have been able to maintain my weight while staying here. Number one I have not been able to exercise... I guess technically I have been able to, I just haven't. Like a complete nerd I even packed a jump rope thinking I might go all Rocky style on this place... but alas now it is just one more thing to shove around the bottom of my suitcase as I desperately try to find what remaining clothes I have left that Baby F hasn't peed, pooped or puked on!
Number two it has been eye opening to visit while on my "diet". My in-laws have a very bad diet... I mean literally tons of sugar and fat... very little vegetation (even by my standards) and they eat in a kind of feast or famine style through out the day. In the past I would just guzzle soda to try and ease myself through the famine portion of the day... now I have been really suffering having no quick fix and I feel like crap! If nothing else having to eat badly and irregularly has made me really appreciate how much better I feel when I am eating "my food" at home. I can't wait to get back into my usual routine!

See you all tomorrow with the return of my weekly menus and most likely some very interesting if not humorous weekend reviews!

Not Funny "Ha Ha"

So to understand the mental prison that I currently find myself in I will transcribe a conversation from this evening.

Mother-in-Law "Blah, blah, blah....broken oven....blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah.... 20 years ago.... blah, blah. Blah, blah... needed a repair man... blah, blah."

Mrs Furious (impersonating someone who gives a shit) replies "hmmm that's funny"

Mother-in-Law looks Mrs F in the eyes and says "No actually it wasn't."

How exactly do you even respond to that?
"Yeah I get that... apparently what you don't get is sarcasm, irony, disinterest, my goddamn comedic genius... but hey thanks for making me feel like an asshole!"

Mrs Furious Heartily Endorses...

Mike's Hard Berry ;)

Sure it's what puss babies drink.. what of it?!

And We Are Off

The Furious clan is packing up and shipping out. This is our first trip out to my in-laws since we had Baby Furious. So of course I spent about 2 hours trying on all my clothes and trying to decide which outfits I looked optimally thin in. I'm kind of afraid that my actual weight loss might not measure up to the hype... it is so hard to have any perspective when you see yourself everyday. All I know is that surprisingly few people ever say anything. But then I'm not a fair judge as I'm one of those annoying people who is always in your face with "You look GREAT.. what are you doing!?!" And then try and memorize what they say verbatim so I can Google all their dieting buzz words when I get home... "hmmm... what exactly is medical weight loss..."
I mean obviously I'm thinner, but some of these people haven't seen me since before I was in pregnant so they aren't going to be as impressed as they might have been if they had seen me like this.. Jesus Christ I look like The Beast!... (and yes I mean as in Beauty and The...) If they had seen me like this then they would all be like "Damn girl you look hot!" Okay... they are a bunch of Irish Catholics so they wouldn't actually say that... or anything (to me at least) even if they did notice...


Never fear I will try my best to post while on location in Connecticut.... God knows I'll need to vent ;)

Mrs Furious and Her Fashion Quest Continues

Well I got my next Missus Smarty Pants newsletter today. I almost didn't even want to open it, but hell I needed a laugh... and boy did I get one! This week the clothes are from La Redoute an online store I have never even heard of. That made me a little nervous. Missus Smarty Pants recommends I buy this shirt. But that is not what is funny. What almost made me spit my hot chocolate all over my computer is the shirt that La Redoute "suggests" in the upper right hand corner (you can see it better here). My nursing baby would surely appreciate this top.. but can you just imagine me showing up at preschool in that! And I mean as it is featured people.... now that is freaking hilarious and worth every penny I spent on this thing!


Disclaimer:
I know a lot (okay like 5!) people have been hitting my site from Googling Missus Smarty Pants.. and I feel bad that I have been bashing her site. You might love her site. You will especially love it if you are a hooker or are over 50. I didn't mean to go there again but in case you forgot she did recommend this top too! And that is not to say women over 50 want to look like hookers... I mean that she seems to have a split personality. If you are over 50 I might go so far as to say I highly recommend her.

It's A Munity

"I'm gonna move the line" Kid Furious announced
"No you're not... because that line is there so I don't kill people" Mrs Furious warns

I had clearly underestimated Baby Furious and Kid Furious, as they are small but wily, and I was quickly overtaken...


I have been overthrown in a meticulously planned coup!


I have been warned not to cross this fortified line (now why didn't I think of that?) and yes that is the international "No Mrs Furious" symbol.

I Will Not Lead You Astray

If you have a few minutes at your disposal this Emmy's review is HILARIOUS... and I didn't even watch the Emmy's!

Update:
Mr F thinks this is not funny.

The Camera Don't Lie

I have been struggling to have the energy to get on the treadmill the past few nights. And I found myself back in the old.."maybe this is as good as I'm going to be able to get" mental place. For obvious reasons my weight loss is slowing up and even my measurements aren't really showing a significant difference. But the camera don't lie folks... and these pictures are keeping me going.

Start taking your "Before" pictures NOW because this is what they can do for you...

The last time you saw me I looked like this:

And today (drumroll please) I look like this:

These pics are just under 2 weeks apart.

And for a little refresher (and I kind of gag when I see this) ... This is what I looked like Exactly 2 months ago!

And in case you are wondering there is only a 13 pound difference between today's photo and this one! And the really disturbing thing is that I actually thought I looked good in this picture!

(Please note that I have just worked out in all the pictures... and in this last one my post work out braid is rather unfortunate looking! I don't look that bad in real life I swear!)

This Week The Plan

It is probably not a good sign that I keep having to post this further and further into the week! This has been a rough few days for me. Baby Furious has a bad cold and is up literally every hour on the hour all night. Kid Furious is fast approaching five and also a serious beat down... (just kidding about the beat down!) In truth she is pushing my buttons non-stop and pushing me to the brink of sanity. On top of one of the longest most trying days of my life Mr F decided to ride his bike to work today... and stay a little late doing personal stuff (needless to say not a lot of heads up on this one!)... and came home 45 fucking minutes late! Why is it (and I know there are other stay at home parents out there who are feelin' this one) that the days that I am most likely to freak out and get all Mommie Dearest on my young brood are the same goddamn days that Mr F is freakin' late!?! I mean is it some kind of test from God or what? So... when he jauntily rides up the drive and I haven't been able to get dinner on the table, since of course I didn't know when he was coming home, and Kid F is yappin' non-freakin'-stop and the Baby is exhausted so can't be put down I hit the wall. I was at the point where I no longer knew whether to start slamming doors or sobbing. Being the Superhero that I am I did neither, I "filed some complaints" with Mr F about not being able to workout now because he was home so late (true... you know I'm on a tight schedule with that... and if ever I needed an endorphin rush it is now) and fed my family a restaurant quality meal goddamn it! Long story short I didn't make a menu this week. Shopped without a list and ended up buying treats....ugggh... I need to get my life back!!

Here is what we had tonight. I've posted this before. I am not joking.. if you want to really test my kitchen prowess out this is the dish to do it with. This is as good a dish as you would get at any fine restaurant. I'm completely serious. It is fabulous. Even if you don't think you like salmon... you will like this.

Brown Sugar and Ginger Salmon

salmon filets
minced ginger (I use jarred pureed ginger... 1/2 t-2 t per 6oz of filet)
ground coriander
s&p
dark brown sugar (1 T per every 6 oz of filets)

Heat oven to 400

line cookie sheet with tin foil (do it!) and lightly grease the foil
Place filets (I get a 12-16 oz for the three of us) on the prepared cookie sheets. Salt and pepper the filets and then dust with the coriander (like you are putting cinnamon sugar on toast). Schmear (yes you NYers will know what I mean) the minced ginger over the filets. This is totally a taste issue on how "hot" you want the salmon to be. Apply sparingly (1/2 t per 6 oz) if you don't like spice and more (2 t per 6 oz filet) if you do. Then take a tablespoon of brown sugar for each 6 oz or so of salmon and evenly crumble and press this on top of the ginger. Pat the sugar to cover the whole filet and kind of moisten it from the ginger. Place in oven for 10-15 mins until desired doneness. The brown sugar should have melted into a glaze. THIS IS FANTASTIC!

175 calories for 4 oz portion


UPDATE
my grocery store isn't selling the jars of pureed ginger (might have been Christopher Ranch or some such brand like the garlic) anymore... they now have it in a tube "Gourmet Garden Ginger Spice Blend"

Also I use Wild Sockeye I find it has a stronger flavor and a firmer texture. Lately I've been buying the vacuum packed frozen filets so I can make this whenever I want.. I just put the filets in the fridge the night before. Whole Foods and TJ's both have these at about $9.99/lb. If you buy it at the fish counter it is often over this and since they've thawed it for you (well for those of us who do not live in Alaska).. you don't have a lot of flexibility in terms of when you're going to make it.


If you have technical questions regarding the prep of this dish please ask! I make these things up and sometimes, and this is the case with this, it is an eyeball thing and not an exact measurement.

Mrs Furious Lays Down The Line

Mrs Furious has very little personal space... Very. Little. Personal. Space.
I have a desk in a corner of the living room. Kid Furious has her own room, an entire playroom, a doll house in the dining room and another right next to my freakin' desk. Kid Furious is having one of those days where she can't back off! She has pretty much lost her complete bleepin' mind and is driving me nuts. I tried in vain to set an imaginary boundary. Kid saw right through that (Ha!) and so I had to think on my feet. Behold.... The Line!



"I'm serious you may not cross that line... EVER!"

Kid Furious proceeds to lie on the floor and put her feet over the line...

"Anything that is over the line is getting cut off!"

Tantrum Aftermath... take 1000

Mrs Furious "Do you want me to turn that CD back on?"

Kid F grumbles some kind of affirmative

Mrs Furious "Yes Please Mom".... see I do model polite genteel language usage ... I even demand it!

Kid Furious dutifully repeats "Yes Please Mom"

Mrs Furious "Are you done being a Freak?" .... okay not all the time...

Kid Furious "I think so..."

In The Kitchen With Kid

Well as hesitant as I was about this venture it all went smoothly. Monkey bread seemed like a great idea and the perfect compliment to the chicken soup she wanted to make. I made the dough (used the mixer... why the hell haven't I done that before... wow! so much faster and easier!) and after it rose cut it into the pieces and Kid then helped me shape them and arrange them in the bundt pan. I was able to control my need to place the monkey bread balls in a symmetrical fashion and let Kid Furious put all the seasoned oil on the same spot over and over and didn't say a word (I was, however, silently screaming). The soup was actually a great experience. Kid Furious peeled carrots (and was very proud of herself!) and she dumped all the ingredients in the pot.. what else is there to do?



Kid's Chicken Soup (adapted from "C is for Cooking Recipes From the Street")

3 carrots, peeled
2 celery stalks
1/3 c peas
1 onion
1.5 pounds chicken drumsticks
1 can chicken broth
5 c water
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 t dried thyme
1 c uncooked alphabet noodles
1/2 T honey
1/2 t dried dill
1/2 t salt or to taste

In large saucepan, combine one carrot and one celery stalk cut into large pieces, the water, bay leaf, 1 t salt, thyme, and chicken legs. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour. Meanwhile halve and thinly slice the 2 remaining carrots and celery stalk. After one hour drain the chicken stock through a sieve or fine colander and into a clean pot. Add the thinly sliced vegetables, pasta, peas, honey, remaining 1/2 t salt, and dill. Return to a simmer for 10 minutes. Separate the chicken meat from the bones and skin. Chop the meat and add back to the soup pot and heat through before serving.

6 - 1.5 c servings at 235 calories each

The original recipe lacked the honey, dill & peas. We have a much more elaborate chicken soup recipe that we usually make around here. Funny thing is by adding these 3 things to this I achieved almost an identical soup, with 1/2 the prep, 1/2 the ingredients, 1/2 the expense & 1/2 the cooking time!

Compliments To The Chef

Last night for dinner I made Tomato & Meatball Soup. After devouring two bowls of it Kid Furious said "Mom could you make this soup every night...except without the tomatoes?" Hmmm... that will be hard since it is tomato soup...

Now this is a 15 minute instant meal using only three ingredients that you can always (and should!) have on hand in your pantry. Do Not Judge Me! When I was making it last night I heard "Ohhh I know what you are making!" from Mr F and "I love meatball soup we haven't had that in a long time" from Kid F. There was not a drop left in anyone's bowls. This is simple and good... not prize winning. Stay tuned for that soup recipe next week.


Tomato and Meatball Soup

1 -32 oz carton Imagine Organic Creamy Tomato Soup (I'm sure you could use a different brand... but this is the best!)

3 oz elbow noodles (dry).. I use Barilla Plus elbows.. nutritional wonders and the texture is still good

12 party style meatballs (frozen) ... Ikea style meatballs (this week I used Trader Joe's)... little beef/pork blend meatballs

1/2 c water


Dump the soup, the noodles, and the meatballs in a sauce pan. Pour the water in the soup carton and shake to dislodge any remaining soup and add to the pot. Bring this to a simmer and continue simmering for 15 minutes. Be sure to stir occasionally while heating!

makes 4 - 1.5 c servings for 263 calories each

we of course eat it as 3 large servings for 350 calories each! I cut the meatballs in half in the kitchen (in the bowl) before serving it to Kid Furious.


You could easily extend this by adding 1 c chicken broth, 3-4 meatballs, and 1 oz of noodles for each additional serving! If you are adding more than 2 extra servings just double the original recipe (obviously... right?)