Here's a picture of the Chili I made the other day. It was really good! We had it with spaghetti and plain. It was equally good both ways. Here is my recipe:

1 1/2 lbs.Ground Beef
1 small-medium Onion chopped
2 cloves of Garlic cut-up
1 small can Tomato Paste
Most of a large can of Tomato Juice
3-4 cans of Bush's Chili Beans (mild)
A little water to rinse the bottom of the bean cans out
1 Packet Chili Man or Rays Chili Seasoning (we like both)

Brown the Ground Beef, Onion and garlic together in a skillet.
In a large pot put the Tomato Paste, Tomato Juice, Chili Beans, water, and Seasoning Packet
Add the Ground Beef mixture with a slotted spoon to drain or drain and add it.
Stir all ingredients together good.
Heat to a low boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the consistency is the way you like it.

Well I did make the chili for dinner yesterday, but forgot to take the picture! I'm sure we will have left-overs today and I will hopefully remember to take a picture of it then. If I do I will post it at some point. Anyway it was yummy good! We ate it with spaghetti; today, however I think we will eat it as chili. I'm sure it will be equally delicious. I've been trying to make comfort food, for the cold, snowy weather, but healthy too. When I post the picture I will post the recipe too. Until then I will post some other pictures of healthy food:

Here's the soup picture again! I just had it again, for lunch today, and it's still yummy! It's mostly vegetable soup now, with little to no meat. LOL! But it's still good. I actually guess this is the last day for it though. It's suppose to snow or something 1-3 more inches, so this time I think I'll make some Chili! Sounds yummy and warming too! Here's my recipe for this soup. It can vary a little from time to time. So feel free to tweek it to your liking.

1 Pound of Stew Meat
2-3 Beef Boullion Cubes
Enough Water to cover the meat about 3 inches
1/2 Onion chopped
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 can V-8 Juiuce
5-6 Potatoes cut-up
5-6 Lg. Carrots cut-up
1 14-16 oz. bag Frozen Vegetable SoupMix
Extra water if needed

Put the stew meat in a stock pot or any large pot you have for making soup.
Add the Boullion Cubes and Water.
Add the Onion.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to simmer and cover.
Cook for an hour.
Add the Tomatoes and V-8 Juice and cover.
Cook another hour.
Add the Potatoes and Carrots and cover.
Cook another hour.
Add the Frozen Vegetables and continue cooking till done. About 30 minutes to an hour. Or until all the ingredients are done and tender.
Serve with Saltine Crackers.
Yummy!

I'm back here again. I deleted this blog and now I've undeleted it to give it another try. So here's another post. It snowed here last night at least 8 inches; so I made a big pot of Vegetable beef Soup for dinner today. It really smells good and should be ready any time now. I'm going to go fix me a bowl, take a picture of it, and post it shortly. I will just keep this post waiting till then.

This recipe for meatloaf is one I've been making for a long time. I think it's the healthiest one I've seen. It's also delicious. I like to serve it with mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese, green beans, and sometimes a salad.If you like meatloaf try this recipe. It's the best!
 Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
                                                                     Meat Loaf
1 1/2 pounds Ground Chuck
1 small Onion chopped
1 clove Garlic chopped
1 Egg
1 cup Oats + extra if needed
1 cup Ketchup (can use low sodium)
1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt or Seasoned Salt Substitute
1/4 teaspoon Pepper (if it's not in the salt)

Mix the ground chuck, onion, garlic, oats, seasoned salt, pepper, egg, and 2/3 cup ketchup in a bowl. I use my hands to mix it. Put it in a loaf pan and shape it. Spread the remaining ketchup on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let stand a few minutes before slicing.
    

                                                                   

This is a picture of Vegetable Beef Soup. I make some soup that looks about like this. Today would be a good day to make some :10/31/2012. You could put it in the crockpot or in a big pot on the stove; and have it ready when you get home this evening. Or if you're staying home just have it for a nice fall dinner. My mother made this when I was a child and I've been making it for a long time myself. It is really good, healthy and fairly low in calories. It helps in a weight-loss program. I am posting my recipe:                                       
                    
1 1/2 pounds of stew meat
3-4 bouillon cubes
1 can V-8 Juice
1 can of diced tomatoes
Water to make the pot about half full
6 medium large potatoes
6 large carrots
1 package frozen mixed vegetables or vegetable soup mix.
1 small onion (optional)

Place the stew meat in a large pot. Add enough water to cover a little above the meat. Add the bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and boil gently for about 2 hours.  Add the V-8 Juice and tomatoes. Can add more water if needed. Continue cooking about 30 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes and frozen vegetables. Cook another 30 minutes or until everything is done and tender. Serve with crackers. If you prefer to fix in a crockpot; put all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 5-6 hours.


                                                                                

I'm still trucking with this diet. The good thing about Grace is you don't have to quit if it gets hard; just regroup and keep moving forward! This looks good! I think it's a Taco Casserole.

Oven Fried Chicken I found on Pinterest. Looks good,

Well here it is Monday again. I weighed again today and seem to be holding pretty steady. I think I weighed about a pound more than last week, but that might have to do with what I was wearing or what I had eaten recently. I'm not worried about it though, I feel like I'm still on track. I guess we'll see next week. I am getting more and more interested in the nutritional side of this. I believe a good nutritious diet along with supplements goes a long way in living a healthy life. And don't overlook sleep and exercise either.

Playing Flag Football on 10/6/2012

This is our littlest fan. He comes to almost all the games. Our precious grandbaby Micah!

Our name is Photography By Clemons. We take a lot of sports pictures, but also other types too.

I weighed again this morning and have lost another couple of pounds. That makes about 15 pounds so far. If you have a certain amount of self-discipline this Grace Diet really works.You don't have to stress on this diet like other diets. You just have to eat the right foods, but if you mess up; don't quit just keep moving forward. Do the best you can. You don't have to count calories either. Just eat the foods, on the diet, in the right amount, but once in a while treat yourself. Exercise is important too; along with nutrition. It's probably a good idea to take a good multi-vitamin daily. Also if you have any special needs like iron, calcium, vitamin D, or anything else along these lines, you probably need to address those too. Remember eat lots of fruit and vegetables, lean protein, low-fat, low-salt, low-carb, and no junk food. Nutrition tip for the day: For a snack eat a piece of fruit instead of sweets; nutritious crackers instead of chips, or a spoon of peanut butter or container of yogurt instead of ice cream.

Here is a picture of what I had for dinner last night. Chicken, carrots, potatoes and green beans cooked in cream of mushroom soup. It was delicious and healthy!

Just a little information about vegetables. There are of course a lot more vegetables and reasons to eat them. They are all loaded with vitamins; some more than others. I happen to love vegetables. It's a good thing too. They are after all a very big part of my diet. They're also low in calories; which means you can eat more of them than any other food. Kind of a win; win situation. I once went on a all vegetable diet, for a few days, and lost about 2 pounds a day. I find that a little more difficult to do now, since I am supposed to eat a certain amount of lean protein. I'm thinking about blogging my whole day of food starting soon. That way as I lose weight you can see what I'm eating and join in if you want to. Until I get that together my diet is 1200 calories, and lean protein, vegetables, fruit,nutritious breads, no sugar, no salt, and low fat. It's not real flavorful so I have to be creative in my cooking. And eat a lot of the fruit and vegetables raw. Ok, I'm going to try to find something I can eat now. I will probably post again later.

A picture I found on Pinterest. It helps to motivate you to eat better. I've been reading this morning on what to take for kidney disease. In particular Nephrotic Syndrome which is what I've been dealing with. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but part of the reason for this blog is to help me overcome this. I just found out the other day that it is possible. I'm already on the right diet, but there are supplements that help too. Acidophilus, Coenzyme A, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin C. Also helpful are Calcium and Magnesium, L-Arginine and L-methionine, Lecithin granules or capsules, Multienzyme complex plus hydrochloric acid, Multimineral complex, Potassium (unless it is already elevated), Vitamin A with mixed carotenoids, Vitamin B complex plus extra vitamin B2(riboflavin), Vitamin E emulsion or capsules, and Zinc plus copper. For amounts read the label and talk to your doctor before taking any of these. I'm not prescribing anything I'm just telling you what I read. You can check them out at a local Health Food Store or online. I got my information from a book : Prescription for Nutritional Healing. Along with these the main thing to me is the diet. I will share some of that with you too. Lean protein, lots of fruit and vegetables, complex carbohydrates and pretty much no salt. I will come up with a sample menu and post it later. For now I'm getting off here so I can see what I can accomplish today. See you later.

I haven't weighed yet today, but I feel like I'm still doing pretty good. I did weigh yesterday, sometime during the day, and seem to be staying where I was. I plan on exercising today . In the meantime I'm going to do some reading on nutrition so I can post more later.

I've now decided to do something I've done off and on for years, but never like I should. Study nutrition along with weight-loss and health. Nutrition I think plays a major role in our health. It can make you sick if it's poor, and can help heal you ,and keep you healthy if it's good. Along with losing weight I want to get healthier. So I believe the best way to do that is through eating the right food, in the right amount, taking supplements and exercise. Getting proper rest is also crucial. I plan on being consistent with this and blog accordingly. Over the years I've learned a lot about what nutrients help with certain conditions. I will try to share some of that here. For example I have a kidney condition and know some of what should help with that. I will study to learn more and put some of it on here. I don't have a degree yet, but have learned a lot through self-study and experience, trying to help myself. Hopefully I can help some of you with what I know and will learn along the way. Of course you probably need to check with your doctor ,before you try any of this. But all I know is from experience and I have talked to the doctor . I have to be careful what I take, so I don't damage my kidneys. A good multivitamin is a good place to start with supplements. Then talk to a doctor or dietician and go from there. Eating good is the most important thing you can do. That's a lot easier to share. Everybody eats; it's what we eat and how much that's important. So I will give you a picture of good food to look at and get started on your journey with.

We went to Sam's Club yesterday and bought some lean meat,fruit etc. All to help me on my diet. I'm going to start talking more about nutrition. The doctor told me the other day that I can get better. That kind of surprised me since I had been under the assumption that My condition would keep declining. Although I have been believing I can get better, through God and some cooperation on my part. But my condition has improved a little and I've only lost about 8 pounds so far. So I assume if I keep it up my health will continue to improve; hopefully! I'm pretty sure it won't hurt! Nutrition does play a major role in all of this. Lean protein, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients all play a role. I am going to do some research and post more later on this.The idea of the diet that I got from the dietician is to help me lose weight, but also to control my sugar and kidney disease. I plan on posting more on all of that too. Exercise is also important. So I think I will try to do some of that today too. That's it for now. I will probably update later.

I plan on going grocery shopping later on today. What I plan on getting is lean protein, vegetables, and fruit. And some fill in foods such as oatmeal, eggs, bread, and whatever else we need. Trying hard to eat right, but I have to get some appropriate food in the house to do it. Doing that and pleasing the grandkids when they're here is like walking a tightrope. They do like fruit though,so maybe the best idea is to get extra fruit along with the other foods. Sounds like a good idea. I think that's what I will do! LOL! Well I need to go get my coupons together. I will probably post my dinner later, and any new information I might have.

I did see the doctor and have bronchitis. On the bright side I have lost about 11 pounds so far. I still have a ways  to go, but if I keep moving forward I will get there. I felt so bad yesterday I never did exercise, but hopefully I will make myself exercise today.

This is what I had for dinner last night. 10/2/2012 : Baked Cod, Stir-Fry Blend, and Corn-On-The-Cob. Yummy and healthy! Also I did see the doctor and have bronchitis.On the bright side though I have lost a total of about 11 pounds!

Well I didn't have the stir-fry for lunch, but had leftovers instead. Still pretty healthy though; it was leftover chili and Ramen Noodles. Not too bad. Probably should have left the noodles off, but the chili was home-made and healthy. I still need to exercise;  and will go do that when I get off of here. Maybe I will fix the stir-fry for dinner and if I do I will tell you. Ok that's all for now ; see you later!

I'm going to the doctor today because I have a cough, fever and congestion. Probably nothing serious, but hopefully I can also get an update on my weight-loss while I'm there.  The picture is what I plan on having something like for lunch. Stir-Fry. It sounds good and easy to fix. Plus very much on my diet and healthy; which is what I need right now. I haven't felt much like exercising lately either; even when I said I was going to. So some of the times I meant to go exercise I didn't. Sorry about that. I mean to be setting an example of what can be done when you apply yourself to something and incorporate grace with it. Hopefully I will get to feeling better soon and get more motivated. I do believe that I have lost about 15 pounds though since I started this blog. That's a lot of the reason for the blog in the first place: To help me lose weight and be accountable for it. And also to help other people lose weight through Grace and Moving Forward. Don't give up! If anybody can do it ; you can do it!

Picture of a recent dinner I had. I think it was 8/13/2012 or around that time. Looks like chicken, rice and broccoli. Well I weighed this morning and have lost another couple of pounds. I know I've been hungry a lot lately. I guess that's the way you feel when you eat the way I've been eating. I've been trying to stay on my diet as close as possible, but it's been hard to keep enough of the food I'm supposed to eat in the house. But I do the best I can . Hopefully as I go along I can get more organized and do a better job. I haven't been exercising as much as I should; but as I keep losing weight I'm getting more motivated. I did do the Ab Coaster Pro some lately, but need to be more consistent. Ok. With all this talk of exercise I think I will go exercise now. I might post my dinner later.

Healthy deviled eggs I found on Pinterest. Go there for the recipe. I might add it later.

Healthy Pizza!Looks Yummy! You can choose your own toppings. My choice would be Pizza Sauce, Lean Sausage, Mushrooms, Canadian Bacon, and Cheese.

This looks like something good to make using blueberries. I don't have the recipe, but you can probably find it ,or something similar, with Google.

Blueberries; a very good choice for a snack. They are very nutritious; and loaded with antioxidants. Good for your eyes and delicious too. They are also good in fruit salads , oatmeal, pancakes and waffles.

Ok; it's Monday again; a good time to reevaluate and see how things are going. So far today I've been pretty hungry and have been having a hard time eating like I should. :( I think what I will do is exercise on the Ab Coaster Pro after I get off of here and see if that will help me get back on track. I guess I could be doing worse though, after all I have lost about 13 pounds so far. Not too bad! :) I'm really tired today and that probably doesn't help either. I guess I will go exercise now and try to think about what I need to eat for the rest of the day.

                                                             
                                                               Chicken and Vegetables
1 Whole Chicken
1 Lemon cut in 4ths
6 Lg. Potatoes cut in pieces
6 Lg. Carrots cut in chunks or several Baby Carrots
1 Med. Onion cut in pieces
1 Lb. Green Beans
Seasoned Salt or Seasoned Salt Substitute

Pepper
Butter
Olive Oil

Rub the Chicken inside and out with Olive Oil and Butter
Put Seasoned Salt inside and outside of the Chicken
Place the cut-up Lemon and Onion inside the cavity of the Chicken
Place the Potatoes, Carrots, and Green Beans on the bottom of the Roasting Pan
Place the Chicken on top of the Vegetables
Cover and Bake at 350 deg. for 45 min.
Uncover and continue baking 15 min. or until golden brown and tender.
Serves 4-6

I finally got our scales up and running. If I remember right , what I weighed at the doctors , last time, I've lost another 6 pounds. I will find out for sure and if it's different I will post it. Here are a few pictures of what I've been eating:

My Dinner The Other Night. 9/14/2012  Baked Cod, Stir-Fry Vegetables, and Oven-Fried Potatoes. Yummy and Healthy!

My lunch at Smokey Bones in St. Louis today. 9/10/2012
Rachel , Micah and I went to St.  Louis today. We went to Cardinal Glennon and then to Smokey Bones to eat. It was yummy!



                                                                                                    

So it looks like I'm going to be eating a lot of all these foods. They actually look pretty good!

Well we bought a new bathroom scales  yesterday so now I can keep track of my weight loss at home. I forgot to weigh this morning before I ate blueberry pancakes for breakfast ! Oh No! LOL! Oh well, it's Labor Day so I can weigh in the morning and call it the first of the week. Planning on going today to buy the 15 foods I need for my kidney disease diet. They happen to be diabetic and weight-loss friendly too. Plus generally healthy foods. They are : Red Bell Peppers, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Garlic, Onions, Apples, Cranberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Red Grapes, Egg Whites, Fish, and Olive Oil. So it looks like I will be eating a lot of fish since it"s the only protein on the list. Ha! The dietition says I need to eat about 4 ozs. of lean meat per serving. I think maybe I can have a little more of fish. But it needs to be baked, broiled, or cooked without fat or with very little fat; unless it's olive oil. Ok I'm going to get on my way to get my diet food soon; so I will post again later.

Pulled Pork sandwich. This could be on a diet if it's adapted into the menu! Maybe leave off the fries and add vegetables of some kind ; maybe a salad.

I found this on Facebook and think it's cute!

Texas Hash

This is a picture of Texas Hash I found. I make another version of it, but they are similar. To make mine:  Preheat oven to 350 deg. The basic ingredients are gr. beef, onion, green pepper, tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, chili powder, seasoned salt or seasoned salt substitute and rice. You brown the beef  until done and add all the vegetables but the tomatoes or tomato sauce, and seasonings. Cook together.  Cook about 3 cups of rice. When everything is cooked , but the tomato sauce or tomatoes, start layering all ingredients  in a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Start with the rice : Put a layer of rice on the bottom, then a layer of the ground beef mixture, and a layer of the tomato sauce or diced tomatoes on that. Keep layering until you have a layer of rice on the top. Cover the top with ketchup or a mixture of ketchup and tomato sauce. Bake at 350 deg. for 30 min. To make a somewhat healthier version you can use brown rice.

This is Taco Lasagna! It looks yummy and it's on the healthy list too!

I found these pictures of healthy food on Pinterest. I think they look yummy too!