Life has been bananas these past two weeks, y’all. I survived one of my busiest work weeks of the year – hallelujah – the hubs has been away at a conference, soccer practice, cotillion and we had a tropical storm. There were other things but I honestly cannot remember what they were. I have struggled about what to write this week because my brain is totally mush. No creative sparks flying. Nada. Zilch. So………..oh, we bought a bike for my oldest this week! Her birthday is at the end of October and she’s turning 10. She’ll be two hands old. I can’t believe it. It truly makes my heart ache. My Dad and I picked out her first “big girl” bike FOUR years ago. We went to Mike’s Bikes, on James Island, and bought her what, at the time, looked like the biggest bike on the planet. And now y’all, that bike comes up to her knees. It happens so fast. I didn’t expect the emotions to start flying over her turning 10 but they are. I can’t keep it together. And I am really NOT that mushy of a person. Regan brought home a paper she had to write in school yesterday. The assignment was to pick your favorite body part and use that part to describe yourself. She picked her feet. At first glance, I started cracking up. Who picks feet? But as I read it aloud I burst into tears. Big huge crocodile tears. This line – “My feet, I love my feet. They let me fit inside my mom’s shoes. That makes me feel happy. They also help me to run in the wind as fast as I dream.” OH MY GOD. Even now, tears. Who is this creative, strong, kind and beautiful young lady? And what happened to my baby? When did she become an actual person? She’s growing up, y’all, and there is nothing I can do about it. Right now she adores me (except when Patrick goes out of town and I yell) and wants to be with me. But for how much longer? I know the next ten years will be fabulous as we watch her become the person she is meant to be, but I will always mourn the first ten years when we had her all to ourselves. Again, tears. I need to wrap this up as I’m a puddle so I’ll end by wishing the person who made me a Mom the happiest tenth birthday in the world. She makes me so proud every single day. I love you Reggie.
Tip of the Week – For so long I struggled with what to eat in the mornings. I wish I could say I get up every AM and toss spinach, kale, strawberries, flax, nut butter, protein powder and whatever else is all the rage into my fancy smoothie machine but that’s just hilarious. I have about five minutes to make my lunch and something for bfast before I’m running out the door. Thankfully, I discovered Premier Protein shakes a few years back and I LOVE them. I have a shake around 9 and then I’m good to go until 12. They are really low in sugar, and calories, but satisfying at the same time. Get them at Costco – so much cheaper than at the grocery store. I buy two boxes when I go. The chocolate and caramel flavors are my favs. Oh and put them in the fridge – much better cold!!
Happy, Healthy Eating Friends!
XO – Kelly D.
Meal Plan for the week of 10/14
Sunday – Mrs. Hamby’s Spaghetti – We are heading to my Aunt’s on Sunday to celebrate my Uncle’s bday. She is making spaghetti – the perfect Sunday supper meal. Spaghetti is a big deal in my family. Some of us like thin noodles, some thick. Some of us like meatballs, others just meat sauce. Since this is my blog I’m going to give you my favorite spaghetti recipe – Mrs. Hamby’s All Day Spaghetti. It’s the bomb.com. Secret ingredient – cinnamon. Don’t knock it ’till you try it!!!! A good salad, some garlic bread and you are ready to go to town. Note – I wasn’t able to locate Mrs. Hambys recipe online so I found one that is pretty much identical!!! I’ll upload hers to Pinterest ASAP!!
Monday – Burrito Zoodles : Super easy zoodle recipe here. Honestly, you could go without the zoodles if you didn’t feel like zoodling. Just eat over lettuce or, in a tortilla if you aren’t carb concerned. I will probably use ground turkey instead of ground beef, just to lighten it up a bit more.
Tuesday – One Pan Parmesan Tuscan Chicken – This looks GOOOOOD y’all. I love a creamy dish. Makes you believe you are eating something naughty when in actuality, it’s only 304 calories a serving. Now, I don’t usually have unsweetened almond milk in my fridge. A quick Teeter search found a carton for about $3 – not too pricey. I think I will serve this one over quinoa, which ups the calories, but not by much. And honestly, you don’t need a huge helping of whatever starch you are serving this with – start small – you may surprise yourself!
Wednesday – Spicy Paleo Tuna Salad – I need an easy recipe on Wednesdays to make it thru the week. This tuna salad is almost too easy. I am not a huge kale fan so I will toss my tuna with a mixed lettuce. I don’t hate kale but it always reminds me of eating at Shoney’s when I was a kid. Do y’all remember Shoney’s? They always put a huge piece of kale on your plate and it always looked plastic. Just me? Oh well….
Thursday – Turkey Pumpkin White Bean Chili – It’s been rumored that we will be in the 70’s here in Charleston, by the end of next week, but I’m taking it for true. Don’t turn your nose up at the pumpkin. This recipe is not sweet at all. The pumpkin just adds a creaminess you will LOVE. And it’s a crockpot, or instant pot, recipe so sit back, relax and let the pot do all the work. P.S. – I need to purchase an instant pot..
Friday – Sous Vide Salmon Teriyaki – OK so my neighbor has a sous vide. Have y’all ever heard of such a thing? She raves about this cooking tool. The other day she was in Wal-Mart and three sous vides were on the clearance rack, so she scooped them all up and then sat back and watched the neighbors fight over who got one. I came in last – I was in a meeting while she was texting everyone. BUT, another neighbor felt bad for me so she offered to share her sous vide. So now I am the joint owner of a $25 sous vide – well, not really. I keep forgetting to pay my neighbor!! Sorry Jen. The whole premise is this tool cooks your food at the perfect temperature so you never over cook your dish. If you don’t own a sous vide, just marinate and bake in the oven . I will serve this with asparagus and call it a day!!
Keep posting and following me on Instagram @dinnerwiththeduffys!! I love your comments and pics!!!
Jennifer says
Hahahaha! I can’t wait until you try the SV.
Diane Meyer says
Recipes sound great. Happy birthday to Regan!! These kids are growing up way too fast. Ready for some spaghetti. Keep
Up the good work Kelly! Love you girl!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️