Karol and I went to see Jillian Michaels.  Going was kind of a fluke.  We love Jillian Michaels, and to be honest I had no idea she was doing a speaking tour.  I happened to stumble upon the information on Facebook, and checked out the price of tickets.  I went to the web page, squinted my eyes, took a deep breath, and hit the button to see the prices.

I was quite surprised to see how affordable the tickets were.  So I texted Karol and asked her if she wanted to go see JM.  To say she was excited would be an understatement!! So tickets were purchased, and we waited with bated breath. The night came and we went to see the amazing Jillian Michaels.  The first hour she talked about food and the second hour she talked about living a full life without “shoulds” and guilt, etc.  I have spent years in therapy, that stuff I knew. But the food stuff that I should have known, had eluded me somehow.

I have written about my huge grocery bills. Switching to an organic diet was daunting to say the least.  I was worried about the cost, and how I was going to afford to feed my family of 5 and not break the bank.  But Karol and I were committed to eating better.  No more pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and other nastiness in our food. However, the cost of switching really concerned me.

So we entered the Real Food genre slowly.  Just purchasing the food we were making for ourselves.  The interesting thing was the first week we purchased all organic for ourselves we reduced our grocery bill by almost $100.00!!!

So we ventured out farther into the organic realm and purchased organic meats and dairy.  I have to say that the milk was the hardest for me.  Spending $6.00 a gallon almost gave me a heart attack, but I figured it was the right thing for my family, so I just took a deep breath and put it in the cart.  Two of them…..  The most interesting thing is, my boys like the organic foods.  They say they taste better!!!

We bought organic peanut butter, organic crackers, cereal, creamer, etc.  It has been an interesting transition.  Last week the grocery bill was a bit higher than the first week, but we had cat litter, cat food, and some cleaning supplies, so it was not all food.

I have even found “healthy” alternatives to candy and soda.  I no longer indulge in candy made by any of the huge chocolate companies that immediately come to mind.  Instead I have switched to Unreal Candy.    Their products have NO high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors or flavors.  No chemicals!!!!  Just wonderful natural ingredients!  Currently you can find these products at CVS and Target stores!  The price is the same as the other ones in the candy aisle, so why not spend the same and get a MUCH MUCH better product?  Seriously! CANDY!  lower in sugar and healthier?  This stuff is amazing, you have to try it!  (not paid by the company for my endorsement). I used to avoid candy like the plague, never thinking I could fit it into my daily calorie “budget”.  Now I can, and so can you.  Why feed you and your kids crap when you can feel them foods without chemicals?

I used to be a Diet Pepsi junkie.  As a matter of fact I drank 2-3 cans of caffeine free diet pepsi every day.  After seeing Jillian, we decided to no longer use artificial sweeteners.  Then one day while shopping we found Zevia.  Stevia sweetened soda.  They have a wonderful assortment of flavors.  Root Beer, Dr Zevia, Cream soda, orange, grape, cherry, cola, caffeine free cola, among others.  It was a bit more expensive than other sodas, but at only one can per day it was completely affordable. The next week my local Harris Teeter had it on sale buy one get one free, so mama stocked up!! You can buy this product at Jewel, Acme, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Safeway, Target, Walgreens and more.  You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

So we are on a new trend. Eating REAL food, drinking naturally sweetened sodas, and guilt free candy!

It is working!!  Two and a half weeks in I am down 5 pounds, and have lost inches in my stomach, hips and thighs!!  Karol is taller and has a faster metabolism than me.  She is down 7 pounds!!

I am excited to keep going and see how healthy we can get!! No more chemicals, hormones, or antibiotics for my family!!

I have not been “inspired” to write about anything.  Sometimes I think I should carry around a little recorder in case I get an idea.  I used to have one, but I loaned it out to someone who had that very same idea, and it never made it home.  And since I don’t want to buy another one, I suppose that idea is out.  I do carry my phone with me almost everywhere I go, and I suppose I could look for a mini recorder app.  I am sure that would work just as well.

I did try to get some help for my writers block, so I put it on Facebook and asked for suggestions.  I got two responses.  One asking if I had tried the new Brownie Brittle?  She knows I have been trying to eat organic and watch my calories lately. Maybe she anted me to do a review?  ;-P  And another saying I could talk about why there are mosquitoes, etc.  To be honest, I have to say I am not sure what purpose mosquitoes have in the world?  Cockroaches either.  I know there are many bugs that have many valuable contributions.  Such as ladybugs, mayflys, silk worms.  The list goes on and on.  But mosquitoes?

So now I am going to put it out there to the rest of you.  Is there a topic that interests you?  Something you think I should write about?  Lat me know.  Unblock me!!!

The first hour she talked about food and fitness, and the second hour she talked about life.  She was a life coach for an hour.  She was so authentic and it felt like we were just sitting in a living room talking. She was funny, and she was informative while at the same time being genuine and “real”.

I was already on-board the fitness and “eating right” mind set, but Karol wasn’t so it was derailing me.  Now we are both moving in the same direction, and it is amazing!!  I have lost 4 pounds in just the first week!!  Karol lost 4.6 pounds!  We have changed the way we eat and are exercising 5 days every week!

Jillian doesn’t believe in deprivation, she believes in doing sweets the right way.  With less refined sugar and healthier choices.  So if you are “jonesing for chocolate” as Jillian puts it, these brownies are just the ticket!  They are moist and fudgy and only 86 calories!!!  They are little bites of heaven.  If you have the calories available in your daily consumption you could cut them into 8 pieces instead of 16 and they would still be only 172 calories!!

JILLIAN MICHAELS CHOCOLATE FUDGE BROWNIES

• Olive oil spray
• 2/3 cup mild honey, such as clover or orange blossom
• 1/3 cup natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

directions

Source: Jillian Michaels

I like to eat one after dinner with 2 teaspoons of natural peanut butter on top.  (My dad taught me the amazingness of peanut butter on  top of brownies)!  YUMMMMM!!!!

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl:

Microwave the honey until it is runny:

Mix the cocoa into the honey:

Mix the applesauce, oil, egg and vanilla into a bowl and pour into the cocoa honey mixture. Cool to room temperature:

Once combined it looks like this:

Mix the wet and dry ingredients and stir until no flour shows:

Pour into an 8×8 pan which has been sprayed with cooking spray:

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes until the edges look dry.

Once cooled, cut into 16 pieces and enjoy!!!

Honestly, I am a chocoholic, and these satisfied my sweet tooth!!!  (Which is pretty big)

ENJOY!!!!

Last time I made Chocolate Lava Cakes, which was a fiasco.  The inside was decidedly NOT lava-ish and the cakes were quite bitter.  I ended up throwing them out.  Which made me sad (wasted chocolate) and annoyed (wasted money).

This time I decided to try something for dinner.  In true Carol Rood fashion I researched my food choice to find a recipe that seemed worthwhile, then I added white whole wheat flour to make it a little healthier.  (Sorry, I think I have mentioned before I am a bit compulsive?) After lots of research I ended up using a recipe from Taste of Home recipes.  I will say however, that I ended up with LOTS of leftovers pasta dough and cheese mixture which I currently have in my freezer.  6 cups of flour made A LOT of dough!!

HOMEMADE CHEESE RAVIOLI

• 6 to 6-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• FILLING:
• 1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese (I used skim)
• 2 cups (8 oz) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper

• Place 6 cups flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Beat the eggs, water and oil; pour into well. Stir together, forming a ball. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes, adding remaining flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Divide pasta dough into fourths; roll one portion to 1/16-in. thickness. (Keep pasta covered until ready to use.) Working quickly, place rounded teaspoonfuls of filling 1 in. apart over half of pasta sheet. Brush around filling with water to moisten. Fold sheet over; press down to seal. Cut into squares with a pastry wheel. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Bring a soup kettle of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook for 1-2 minutes or until ravioli float to the top and are tender. Drain. Spoon sauce over ravioli. Yield: 6 servings.

The eggs didn’t stay quite where they were supposed to…..lol

I rolled another dough sheet and cut strip to place on cheese and dough on counter.

Using the press I made little ravioli circles and placed each one on some parchment paper.

Then I boiled them (one serving at a time).

And the finished product:

This was a successful attempt at pasta.  However, I did learn a few things:

1) I really need a pasta roller.  It was difficult to get the pasta as thin as it should be. I felt as though the ravioli were a little too thick.

2) I need to get a Ravioli mold.  There wasn’t much cheese in my raviolis, so a mold will help get more cheese in there.

Other than that, it was time consuming but I enjoyed it.  I will make whole wheat pasta next time so it is healthier!

This venture into the kitchen was a SUCCESS!  And Delicious!  My kids loved them also!!!!

I want to start by giving you all an idea of how the world was when I was in high school.  I graduated in 1983.  We didn’t have cell phones, and our computers looked like this:

Madonna was still a virgin, the Brat Pack and Molly Ringwald ruled the screen and BIG hair was the look. Along with acid washed jeans, parachute pants, leg warmers and banana clips.

My memory of high school has never been great.  I wasn’t the kid who had a “bestie” all through school that I still keep in touch with.  In fact, I didn’t even have a best friend who lasted throughout my entire high school career.  I had some good friends in 8th grade who were still my friends in high school, but we drifted apart, and weren’t such good friends by Sophomore year.  I had different friends in Sophomore year than I had in Junior and Senior year.

I wasn’t particularly pretty or athletic.  I was in the band, and in theater.  I definitely was not part of the popular crowd.  They sat at the lunch tables right next to the doors leading out of the cafeteria.  I sat FAR from those tables.

I don’t remember hanging with the same crowd during the four years I was there, nor do I remember really having a great time.  I was full of angst, making my mother crazy, getting into trouble and always pushing the limits.

There were “cliques” in high school, the jocks, the brains, the stoners, the cheerleaders, and the whole earth kids.  I didn’t belong to any of those groups.  In fact, I never really felt like I belonged anywhere.  I tried to fit in, but never really did.

After high school I went into the Navy, left the town I grew up in and never really looked back.  My parents lived there for a few years after I joined, so I would go back to visit them and would occasionally run around town, but I never reconnected with the kids I went to school with.  Then my parents moved from Connecticut, and I haven’t been back since.

Of course we had high school reunions I knew about, but I never felt any desire to go.  High school was not a fun time for me.  Kids were mean to me.  I was called names (I was large breasted and “two ton tittie” was a favorite of some). I was shunned and teased by my some kids in my homeroom class (thanks to one of my older brother’s girlfriends), and in my mind a reunion just meant more of the same.

As the years went by, technology changed, the internet was born, and a website called “Classmates” emerged.  Of course I checked it out.  I suppose it was my voyeuristic need to see what “everyone else” was doing.  These were the early years of the internet, and unless you paid for a “gold” membership you really couldn’t see anyone’s profile.  I did reconnect with a girl I had been friends with in 9th grade.  I even went to visit her in Kentucky when I was driving through to go to an Amway conference.  (Yes I did Amway, but that is a story for another day).

Fast forward a few years.  The internet has grown, and Facebook was born.  Of course, just like everyone else I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, and got started.  I reconnected with dozens of people from my years in the Navy, and then started slowly reconnecting to people from high school. Remember this was 2004, and by this time I was in my 39, as were all the other people I had graduated with.  I have to admit I was surprised by some of the people who wanted to “friend” me.  These people were not my friends in high school that I remembered.  Some of them had not been very nice to me.  Why did they want to be my friend now?  It made me start to think that the kids who were mean to me didn’t remember being mean. I remembered.

Then a strange thing happened.  Facebook started changing my memories.  People would send me messages like, “when we were in high school you were always so friendly and always said hello to me.  You were so nice.”  Or, “I remember you talking to me when I was having a hard time, and you really helped me.” I even had someone send me a message that was, “I know you don’t know this, but high school was really hard for me, and you were one of the only people who was really nice to me.  I will never forget that,  You meant a lot to me. Thank you!”  That one really floored me because I had no recollection of that event, but it solidified my belief that we don’t always know the impact we have on people, positive or negative.

I once described myself on Facebook as an “average Jane”, to which a classmate said my perception of myself was funny because she would describe me as anything but an average Jane.  That surprised me as well.  In fact recently I reconnected on Facebook with a classmate who is a successful author, blogger, freelance writer and radio show host.  I had made a comment about the negative comments on the Huffington Post article I was in, and she said that she really liked the article and thought I always had something interesting to say!  I was floored.  I couldn’t believe she had even noticed me.  She was a popular girl in school, and is a bestselling author today!

It made me realize that I wasn’t the only one who struggled and felt alone, or awkward.  I was a nice person in school who had a positive impact on people’s lives.  I am sure I probably had some negative ones also, but nobody has come forward to yell at me…… yet.

So this year when a 30 year high school reunion was announced, I decided to go.  I have to admit I am a little nervous.  The crowd I “hung out” with in school  isn’t going, and I wonder if anyone will sit with me or talk to me.  Just because they seem to like me on Facebook doesn’t mean they will want to talk to me in real life.  Will they all be too busy with the high school buddies they have stayed friends with all through the years?  Bluebell is going with me, and surprisingly my two teens want to go for the weekend as well, to see where I grew up, and hang at the beach.

Reconnecting with people on Facebook has given me the courage to go check it out and I think I will have a good time.  It changed my perception of high school and the other people who wandered those halls with me.  Now I will go see if my changed perceptions are true.  Wish me luck!!

                                        My high school yearbook, senior year