Heather Balog's Blog, page 6

Oregon Dungeness Crabs

Only 9 more states to go! Number 9 is Oregon, and for our Oregon meal, we chose dungeness crabs.

Hubby and I both remarked that this was probably the least exciting of our 50 states meal (with the exception of Utah—jello is pretty boring). It wasn’t because the meal didn’t taste good or anything like that. The meal was really straightforward, with no screw ups in the kitchen at all. It wasn’t even difficult to get the dungeness crabs, even though they’re not local. In fact, the dungeness crabs were actually on sale at our grocery store the same week we were planning on having them.

I Didn’t Even Take Pictures of the Meal While Cooking

Seriously…it was so simple. Throw dungeness crabs in steam pot. Throw corn and potatoes in pot. Add Old Bay. (My family is addicted to Old Bay. They put it on everything, including bagels.) Steam them for a half hour. Eat crabs. The crabs are messy to eat, of course—what crabs aren’t messy?[image error]

Dungeness Crabs Indigenous to the Pacific

Dungeness crabs can be found in the Pacific ocean, and are popular in Oregon and Washington State. They are actually named after the Dungeness Spit, an area in Northwest Washington State. These crabs are pretty large (at least the ones we got were) and full of meat. They are definitely not my favorite crab, though. They were good, don’t get me wrong. But I find Dungeness crabs to be a little drier and not as juicy as I am accustomed to with my favorite crabs, King Crabs.

Who Doesn’t Love King Crabs?

I’m sure there is someone out there that isn’t a King Crab fan, but he or she doesn’t live in my household. In fact, when we did Alaska, we were fighting over the crab legs. They’re crazy expensive, though, and oh, so prickly, making it difficult to eat. But my goodness they are by far the tastiest (in my opinion).

Snow Crab Legs Are What We Usually Get in Restaurants

Snow crab is like the smaller cousin of Alaskan King Crab. It is found in the coastal waters of Maine and Alaska. They are sold in clusters, and often what people associate eating crab with (at least around here). You crack them open and pull the meat out. Dip in butter. Yum. I think I never even had a different type of crab until we went to Maryland and they piled crab (with eyeballs) in front of us and handed us a mallet. Yup, Blue Crab.

Blue Crab Are the King of the East Coast

On the east coast, we’ve got blue crab. It’s so popular around here that it’s on Maryland license plates. Blue crabs are sweet—you eat the body rather than the legs (although the claw meat is eaten). In Ocean City, there are crab joints on every corner (our favorite is Higgins Crab House North). People catch their own crab with crab pots and nets all the time.

Soft shell crab is also a delicacy on the East Coast—it’s Blue Crab that has molted.

Stone Crabs?

Down in the lower part of the Atlantic, from the Carolinas to the Gulf Coast, there are Stone Crab, which I have never had. Apparently, you only eat the claws, so crabbers will catch them, remove one claw, and set them free to regenerate that claw. That sounds so cool…recycling your food!

Try the Dungeness for a Change of Pace

Anyway, the Oregon meal was good…surprisingly filling for crab (usually we end up starving an hour after we eat crab). So if you are a crab fan and you’ve never tried Dungeness crab, give it a shot. You might have a new favorite.

[image error]

The post Oregon Dungeness Crabs

Oregon Dungeness Crabs

Only 9 more states to go! Number 9 is Oregon, and for our Oregon meal, we chose dungeness crabs.

Hubby and I both remarked that this was probably the least exciting of our 50 states meal (with the exception of Utah—jello is pretty boring). It wasn’t because the meal didn’t taste good or anything like that. The meal was really straightforward, with no screw ups in the kitchen at all. It wasn’t even difficult to get the dungeness crabs, even though they’re not local. In fact, the dungeness crabs were actually on sale at our grocery store the same week we were planning on having them.

I Didn’t Even Take Pictures of the Meal While Cooking

Seriously…it was so simple. Throw dungeness crabs in steam pot. Throw corn and potatoes in pot. Add Old Bay. (My family is addicted to Old Bay. They put it on everything, including bagels.) Steam them for a half hour. Eat crabs. The crabs are messy to eat, of course—what crabs aren’t messy?[image error]

Dungeness Crabs Indigenous to the Pacific

Dungeness crabs can be found in the Pacific ocean, and are popular in Oregon and Washington State. They are actually named after the Dungeness Spit, an area in Northwest Washington State. These crabs are pretty large (at least the ones we got were) and full of meat. They are definitely not my favorite crab, though. They were good, don’t get me wrong. But I find Dungeness crabs to be a little drier and not as juicy as I am accustomed to with my favorite crabs, King Crabs.

Who Doesn’t Love King Crabs?

I’m sure there is someone out there that isn’t a King Crab fan, but he or she doesn’t live in my household. In fact, when we did Alaska, we were fighting over the crab legs. They’re crazy expensive, though, and oh, so prickly, making it difficult to eat. But my goodness they are by far the tastiest (in my opinion).

Snow Crab Legs Are What We Usually Get in Restaurants

Snow crab is like the smaller cousin of Alaskan King Crab. It is found in the coastal waters of Maine and Alaska. They are sold in clusters, and often what people associate eating crab with (at least around here). You crack them open and pull the meat out. Dip in butter. Yum. I think I never even had a different type of crab until we went to Maryland and they piled crab (with eyeballs) in front of us and handed us a mallet. Yup, Blue Crab.

Blue Crab Are the King of the East Coast

On the east coast, we’ve got blue crab. It’s so popular around here that it’s on Maryland license plates. Blue crabs are sweet—you eat the body rather than the legs (although the claw meat is eaten). In Ocean City, there are crab joints on every corner (our favorite is Higgins Crab House North). People catch their own crab with crab pots and nets all the time.

Soft shell crab is also a delicacy on the East Coast—it’s Blue Crab that has molted.

Stone Crabs?

Down in the lower part of the Atlantic, from the Carolinas to the Gulf Coast, there are Stone Crab, which I have never had. Apparently, you only eat the claws, so crabbers will catch them, remove one claw, and set them free to regenerate that claw. That sounds so cool…recycling your food!

Try the Dungeness for a Change of Pace

Anyway, the Oregon meal was good…surprisingly filling for crab (usually we end up starving an hour after we eat crab). So if you are a crab fan and you’ve never tried Dungeness crab, give it a shot. You might have a new favorite.

[image error]

The post Oregon Dungeness Crabs

Oregon Dungeness Crabs

Only 9 more states to go! Number 9 is Oregon, and for our Oregon meal, we chose dungeness crabs.

Hubby and I both remarked that this was probably the least exciting of our 50 states meal (with the exception of Utah—jello is pretty boring). It wasn’t because the meal didn’t taste good or anything like that. The meal was really straightforward, with no screw ups in the kitchen at all. It wasn’t even difficult to get the dungeness crabs, even though they’re not local. In fact, the dungeness crabs were actually on sale at our grocery store the same week we were planning on having them.

I Didn’t Even Take Pictures of the Meal While Cooking

Seriously…it was so simple. Throw dungeness crabs in steam pot. Throw corn and potatoes in pot. Add Old Bay. (My family is addicted to Old Bay. They put it on everything, including bagels.) Steam them for a half hour. Eat crabs. The crabs are messy to eat, of course—what crabs aren’t messy?[image error]

Dungeness Crabs Indigenous to the Pacific

Dungeness crabs can be found in the Pacific ocean, and are popular in Oregon and Washington State. They are actually named after the Dungeness Spit, an area in Northwest Washington State. These crabs are pretty large (at least the ones we got were) and full of meat. They are definitely not my favorite crab, though. They were good, don’t get me wrong. But I find Dungeness crabs to be a little drier and not as juicy as I am accustomed to with my favorite crabs, King Crabs.

Who Doesn’t Love King Crabs?

I’m sure there is someone out there that isn’t a King Crab fan, but he or she doesn’t live in my household. In fact, when we did Alaska, we were fighting over the crab legs. They’re crazy expensive, though, and oh, so prickly, making it difficult to eat. But my goodness they are by far the tastiest (in my opinion).

Snow Crab Legs Are What We Usually Get in Restaurants

Snow crab is like the smaller cousin of Alaskan King Crab. It is found in the coastal waters of Maine and Alaska. They are sold in clusters, and often what people associate eating crab with (at least around here). You crack them open and pull the meat out. Dip in butter. Yum. I think I never even had a different type of crab until we went to Maryland and they piled crab (with eyeballs) in front of us and handed us a mallet. Yup, Blue Crab.

Blue Crab Are the King of the East Coast

On the east coast, we’ve got blue crab. It’s so popular around here that it’s on Maryland license plates. Blue crabs are sweet—you eat the body rather than the legs (although the claw meat is eaten). In Ocean City, there are crab joints on every corner (our favorite is Higgins Crab House North). People catch their own crab with crab pots and nets all the time.

Soft shell crab is also a delicacy on the East Coast—it’s Blue Crab that has molted.

Stone Crabs?

Down in the lower part of the Atlantic, from the Carolinas to the Gulf Coast, there are Stone Crab, which I have never had. Apparently, you only eat the claws, so crabbers will catch them, remove one claw, and set them free to regenerate that claw. That sounds so cool…recycling your food!

Try the Dungeness for a Change of Pace

Anyway, the Oregon meal was good…surprisingly filling for crab (usually we end up starving an hour after we eat crab). So if you are a crab fan and you’ve never tried Dungeness crab, give it a shot. You might have a new favorite.

[image error]

The post Oregon Dungeness Crabs

Friends From the Edge

A missing teenage boy. A deserted graveyard. Three friends who know what happened. A secret they swear never to tell. Until the secret comes back to haunt them…thirty years later.

It’s October and we all know what that means…crunchy autumn leaves underfoot, pumpkin spice everywhere, hoodies, and of course, Halloween. What’s more “Halloween-y” than creepy stories set in a graveyard? Aside from anything written by Stephen King, of course.

My latest novel, Friends From the Edge is one such book…that takes place in a graveyard, that is. The novel follows four teenage friends who live in a cul-de-sac in the late 80s. A cul-de-sac named “The Edge”. Jack, Matt, Lisa, and Cassie. The alpha male, the lucky one, the goody-two shoes, and the glamorous hottie that all the boys want. On the outside, they seem to have it all. Yet inside, the teens are shattered in pieces. It is their unbreakable friendship with each other that prevents them from falling apart. Until the one night when tragedy is set forth into motion by their actions, leaving one of the four dead…and missing. The remaining three swear to never speak of that night again…or to each other. They go their separate ways, hoping to bury their mistakes and the past.

Thirty years later, one of the friends gets an ominous message. Someone is digging into their past and threatening to expose their secret. Who is it and what do they really want? Is their secret the only thing that isn’t safe, or are their lives in danger, too?

Interview By A Teenage Daughter

I was really hesitant when my teenage daughter asked if she could read Friends From the Edge. Usually I try not to shield her too much from mature subject matter—she needs to learn about the world and I feel like by not shying away from these topics, I can keep an open dialogue with her. It’s scary raising a teen in today’s world…I want both my kids to know they can talk to me about anything and that I’m not hiding things from them.

Needless to say, according to my daughter, it’s “Weird” when you’re reading stuff your mom wrote…especially during silent reading in Language Arts class. Ooops. Anyway, she actually liked the book and had a few questions about it (and they weren’t the questions I thought she would have…thank God.) Her questions were thought provoking and I wanted to share them with my readers…you know, in case you had the same questions.

What Inspired “Friends From the Edge”?

Many writers, myself included, draw inspiration from real life events or personal experiences. Many times, the characters that you meet in books are amalgams of people we’ve met in our lives, and scenes are bits and pieces of situations that we’ve encountered. A lot of the stories writers come up with are born out of a situation they’ve been in…usually those scenes play out differently in real life than they do in the books they write. I think writers often play “what if” to come up with the plots of their books.

I got the idea for Friends From the Edge being about kids in the 80s because, well, I was a kid in the 80s. It’s strange how we often find ourselves nostalgic for childhood when we wanted nothing but to grow up as soon as possible when we were children. I wanted to write a book about being a kid, being a teen, during that time in history—like I could somehow relieve those days by writing about them. Much of the pop culture references I incorporated in Friends were important to me during my own teenage-hood.

Eerily enough, I lived across the street from a graveyard when I was younger. Despite constant assurances from my parents, I was petrified of it for most of my early years. Even back then, I had a vivid imagination and could dream up pretty unlikely scenarios for that graveyard. We moved when I was six years old, but I still get the creeps from that graveyard whenever I pass it to this day. So I wanted a graveyard in this book…because in my six year old brain (and forty-two year old brain), nothing good ever happens in a graveyard. Especially not when a bunch of teen are hanging around unsupervised (ahhhh, I miss the 80s…)

How Did You Make the Reader Feel Like They Were Actually IN the Novel?

I wasn’t sure what she meant by this at first. But then she explained that she felt so drawn into the story that it was like she was actually there. That’s one of the best compliments a writer can ever receive. That is exactly what we strive for when we write…we want our readers to feel that emotional connection with the characters and physical connection with the scenes.

Like a magician, I can’t reveal my secrets. However, I will say, writing this book felt very real to me. I was able to summon up a lot of repressed feelings from when I was the age of the characters. I think that made it so much easier to write. Plus, I played a lot of 80s music when I wrote—it took me back and helped me remember what it was like to be their age, to get into their heads.

Was It Hard to Kill Off a Central Character?

Ugh. Yes. I’ve only killed off a few characters in my previous novels, but they were mostly unlikable characters. This was the first time I had to plot the demise of a character I liked. Obviously, the book would have had no plot without the death, but it was almost painful to do. I knew I had to kill one of the boys off, but I enjoyed creating these characters so much, it felt like an impossible Sophie’s choice. Like choosing between my children. Obviously in the end I made a decision—one that pushed the book in the direction that it needed to go in.

Will There Be a Sequel?

Honestly, I feel as if everything was wrapped up as much as it could possibly be at the end. I don’t think it leaves you hanging…too much. But, I never say never. I can’t be certain that I won’t be inspired to go back and write about Cassie, Lisa, Matt, and Jack again.

Want to read Friends From the Edge? It’s FREE on Kindle until October 10.

 

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Shrimp Tacos for National Taco Day

Today is National Taco Day, a day I can certainly get behind! Who doesn’t love a good taco? It doesn’t matter what your food preference is, tacos have it all. Crispy shells or soft tortillas, ground beef or chicken, cheese or sour cream…there is no wrong way to eat a taco. In honor of this momentous holiday, I made shrimp tacos and I’m going to share the recipe with you! Aren’t you lucky?

But honestly, these shrimp tacos were soooooooo easy and even more delicious than they were easy…if that’s humanly possible. They’re no problem to whip up on a weeknight, even if you’re pressed for time. If you really only have a few minutes, make the avocado sauce beforehand (it’ll keep nicely in the fridge for quite a few days…and tastes great on salad if you have any leftover!) and it will seriously only take you about five minutes to make the shrimp tacos.

***By the way, my blog may contain affiliate links which means that if you should click on the link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no cost to you.

The Key is the Avocado Lime Cilantro Sauce

Avocados are amazing—besides all the great health benefits from avocados, they taste delicious and can be incorporated into so many different recipes. I could probably do blogs just on avocado recipes. The crazy part is, I never even had an avocado until about 4 or 5 years ago when Hubby took this cooking class and they made homemade guacamole. I had never even had guac at this point in time—I know, crazy! But guacamole includes a whole lot of ingredients that I’m not a fan of. (Like onions.) Yet, when they’re all nicely blended together in this amazing guac, I don’t even taste those things that I don’t like.

Anyway, off on a tangent as usual…

The avocado lime cilantro sauce is really tasty (and I’m not a cilantro fan at all). It’s incredibly simple to make—just toss the avocados, milk, Greek yogurt, jalepeno, cilantro, and lime juice in the blender and blend for a minute until smooth. I tossed everything in my Ninja, which I HIGHLY recommend. I like it so much better than any other blender I’ve had in the past—no chunks or unblended pieces.

The Coleslaw Adds a Delightful Crunch

You can chop up the cabbage for the slaw in no time. I used my Pampered Chef chopper for this task. The chopper is seriously one of my favorite tools because I can chop up anything from apples to onions (so I don’t have to touch them). I used it for the mango as well.

Look how beautiful that slaw is! Add some cilantro and a drizzle of lime juice to the slaw to give it a little more flavor.

Throw the Shrimp in a Skillet and BAM…Dinner is Done

Take the tails and shells off the shrimp and dump them in a bowl. Season them with chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper and toss until coated. Heat oil in the skillet and cook shrimp. When shrimp is cooked, squeeze some lime juice over the top and call in the family to assemble their own tacos. (Many recipes will give you “instructions” to assemble the tacos, but like I said earlier…there’s no wrong way to eat a taco.) Let everyone put together their own shrimp tacos. Plus, you cooked the meal…let them do a little work, too.

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Print Yum

National Taco Day

Ingredients

For the sauce:
1 avocado
1/2 c. milk
6 oz Greek yogurt (plain)
1 jalapeno, seeded
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced

For the Coleslaw:
1 c. purple cabbage, chopped
1 c. green cabbage, chopped
2 c. frozen mangos
1 lime, juiced


1 lb shrimp
2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lime, juice
2 TBSP olive oil

Instructions

For the sauce:
Peel and pit avocado.
Add avocado, Greek yogurt, milk, jalapeno, garlic powder, cilantro and lime juice to blender. Blend well.
For coleslaw:
Chop both purple and green cabbage (enough for 1 c. of each chopped).
Take 2 c. of frozen mango and chop.
Mix mango and cabbage. Add chopped cilantro. Squeeze juice of one lime into mix. Toss well.
For shrimp:
Remove tails and shells from shrimp. Rinse well and pat dry.
Toss shrimp with cumin, chipotle chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
Heat 2 TBSP of olive oil in skillet.
Cook shrimp in skillet, about 2 minutes each side.
Assemble tacos by adding shrimp, coleslaw, and a drizzle of the avocado lime cilantro sauce.
Enjoy!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes0.1https://thebadmommydiaries.com/shrimp-tacos-for-national-taco-day/[image error]

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Iowa Loose Meat Sandwiches

We are getting to the end of the State Tour! Only 10 states to go so we’ll have to do a countdown like on New Year’s Eve. State #10 is Iowa…and Iowa’s iconic food? Loose meat sandwiches.

Visions of the original Roseanne series come to mind when I hear “loose meat sandwiches”. Remember Roseanne and Jackie opened a loose meat sandwich shop, The Lanford Lunchbox toward the end of the show? I think it was after they won the lottery…which turned out to all be a dream, right? I was never sure what loose meat sandwiches were, but I do know that the idea never sounded like something I wanted to try.

These sandwiches actually originated in Iowa, created by the Maid Rite corporation in 1926 (hence why they are sometimes called Maid Rite sandwiches…which honestly, sounds more appealing than “loose meat”.) There’s not much going on in Iowa from what I could gather online (Did you know kids can get their driver’s permit at 14?!?! Is there nothing else for them to do?!?!?!), so I was thinking just because Iowans thought this sandwich was the bomb, didn’t necessarily mean a jaded East-coast food snob like me would like it.

The Purpose of This Experiment Was to Try New Things

Still, I always tell the kids that they need to try new things because they never know if they’ll like them or not. This was the whole point of USA cooking experiment. So I guess I need to lead by example and try the loose meat sandwiches. (Insert nose wrinkle here.)

First order of business was finding a recipe for loose meat sandwiches online. I searched high and low and oddly enough, the recipes for these sandwiches are nearly identical everywhere—I don’t like that.

I Like to Add My Own Flair to My USA Meals

Remember the movie Office Space from the late 90s with Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston? All the great lines from that movie? Have you seen my Swingline? Or all the TPS reports that Peter had to do on the weekends? And when he came tromping through the office with Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangster in the background? I could watch Office Space once a week and never get bored. If you haven’t seen this movie, I don’t think we can be friends.

Anyway, one of the best scenes in the movie is when Jennifer Aniston’s boss is chastising her because she only has the bare minimum pieces of “flair” on her uniform. Jennifer Aniston’s character just wants to go through the motions at work and has no desire to be unique or stand out.

I, however, would have more than the bare minimum of flair…I like to put my own stamp on the meals I make so that they’ve got some of my personality in them and they’re not just copy cat recipes. Loose Meat sandwiches were no exception. The ingredients were pretty basic as far as I was concerned: ground beef, onions, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, sugar, garlic powder, beef broth, and of course, salt and pepper.

My Secret Ingredient?

Horseradish mustard. Okay, maybe it’s not ground breaking, but it gave the sandwiches a little more heat and flavor. And Hubby was proud of my efforts to enhance the meal’s flavor profile (we’ve been watching too much Master Chef I think…). If you don’t have horseradish mustard, use the yellow mustard and add some horseradish to it.

Have I Ever Mentioned How Much I HATE Onions?

It seems like every recipe lately has onions in it. My house perpetually smells like onion. Bleech.

Since I hate touching the onions, I usually beg Hubby to chop them:

[image error]

He’s so much better at it than I am. And the chopping of the onions was seriously the most difficult part of this whole meal.

The loose meat sandwiches were a breeze to cook—start off sauteing the onions in a saucepan. Add the beef and other ingredients one at a time. Finally, add the beef broth and simmer until the liquid is gone. My only “beef” with this recipe is that it called for WAYYYY too much beef broth. I would still be waiting for that liquid to evaporate if I had added as much as I had been instructed to. As it was, I only used about half the amount the recipe called for and after 40 minutes I ended up draining off the remaining liquid. I also discovered I could have made this in the crock pot. I’ll have to try that next time.

Yes, maybe there will a next time. The sandwiches weren’t half bad…sort of like a deconstructed hamburger or something. Although if I make these again, cheese is necessary. I definitely have a difficult time eat hamburgers without cheese, but for the first attempt, I wanted to be a little authentic (minus the fact that I added my own ingredients to the meat).

[image error]

Print Yum

Iowa Loose Meat Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 lb of ground beef
1 medium onion, minced
1 tsp garlic powder
2 TBSP Horseradish mustard
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
16 oz beef broth
salt and pepper to taste
oil
pickle chips
hamburger buns

Instructions

Heat oil in pan.
Saute onions until tender over medium heat.
Add beef and cook till browned.
Add all other ingredients and stir well.
Lower temp to a simmer and cook till liquid evaporates.
Assemble loose meat on hamburger bun.
Add pickles.
Enjoy!Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes0.1https://thebadmommydiaries.com/iowa-loose-meat-sandwiches/[image error]

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This is Me (Loving Your Not-So-Perfect Body)

A few days ago, I was scrolling through Instagram while I was hiding from everyone in the house (in the bathroom—they may be grown, but they still have the ability to annoy me…). I happened to notice one of the diet gurus I follow had more half naked pictures of herself up, as she tends to do on a weekly (if not daily) basis.  She’s constantly either posting pictures of what she’s eating (see The Bad Mommy Meal Preps) or what exercises she’s doing. It’s like a wreck on the highway…one you can’t look away from. I don’t know why I follow her—I must be a glutton for punishment. I must like to torture myself by looking at pictures of people that are in shape. People with “perfect” bodies. I gazed at her flat abs and then I stared down at my pudgy, middle-aged mom belly with disgust. My “not-so-perfect body”.

How Did I Get This “Not-So-Perfect Body”???

Hadn’t I sworn that I was going to lose weight this summer? Didn’t I say I was going to exercise more and drink less and eat healthier to get into shape? Didn’t I promise that last summer and the summer before? Isn’t my weight slowly creeping up to an uncomfortable places that it’s never been at before despite all those promises??? How did I get here?

It Wasn’t Always Like This

Because I’m a glutton for punishment (among other things, like food…), I’ve allowed myself to look at pictures from years ago, when I was 30 pounds lighter and 5 years younger…you know, back when I thought that I was fat and out of shape and wrinkled. Now that I’m really fat and out of shape and wrinkled, my concerns of yesteryear don’t seem so bad. And today’s complaints about my body will seem petty to me in 5 or 10 years from now as well. Right?

I Wanted That Body Back

Still, I was longing for that body in my old pictures, and I was determined to get it back. A few weeks ago, after seeing a picture of myself from 2013, I swore up and down I was cutting out carbs and increasing my workouts in both duration and intensity. I was going to get stronger and lose weight. (Along with blogging more, writing more books, going to work, cooking for my family, cleaning the house, getting more sleep, and having more leisure time.) I was going to get it together.

I was going to stop hiding my body in the nurse scrubs and actually get back to being happy with myself. Because if I looked like that again, I’d be happy with myself, right?

I Forgot One Important Thing

Those pictures from years ago show a smiling face, a girl in size 2 jeans, a flat stomach, and toned arms. However, when you look at those pictures of me from the past, what you don’t see, despite the smile, is the incredible unhappiness underneath. Not so much unhappiness with my life, but unhappiness with the demands I placed on myself and the sheer exhaustion from trying to meet those demands. The belief that if I lost 5 more pounds or 10 more pounds, everything would click into place and happiness would be mine.

Maybe I looked good, maybe I even felt good, but happiness was elusive. Everyday I had a rigid schedule to adhere to, just to be where I was at weight-wise. I had to work out 5 days a week, then 6, then 7, then 10 and 12 times a week, just to maintain my weight.

And forget eating. I measured and counted and balanced on a scale. I didn’t stray from my diet to have a candy bar or a cookie. The idea of going to a restaurant had me breaking out into a cold sweat. If I had a glass of wine, I literally poured out 5 oz. I allowed myself one treat a week…a treat that I started dreaming about as soon as I had finished the previous week’s treat. And I chastised myself constantly if I strayed from my strict regiment. Straying was a sign of weakness.

And I Definitely Wasn’t Weak

What I was was constantly hungry from only allowing myself 27 almonds to eat as a snack, and tired from getting up at 5 am day after day to burn off calories before I even consumed any. I was cranky and annoyed when my workout plans or eating plans were derailed. If I’m honest, I was cranky and annoyed even when they weren’t derailed.

Yet, I still wasn’t where I wanted to be. I worked harder than ever when I hit 34 and 35 and 36. I swore up and down at that point that anyone who had kids and claimed they couldn’t lose weight, was just being lazy. Hell, I even blogged about it! (See Get Off Your A$$ and Stop Making Excuses.)

My Perspective Has Changed…SLIGHTLY

That day I saw this other woman’s picture on Instagram, it had been about 3 and 1/2 weeks into my “diet”. (I hate that word, but I can’t think of anything else to call it…maybe “lifestyle upheaval”.) I had not succeeded in losing a single pound. In fact, I gained 2. I immediately began to panic, distraught that I would never be the person I was in those pictures again…never be that skinny bitch that was so unhappy that she stopped being a skinny bitch…and she started to be the happy bitch instead.

And then it clicked. The epiphany I’ve been waiting for.

Skinny Does NOT = HAPPY

I’m not going to feel bad about not looking like that girl with the perfect body. I’m not going to apologize for not wanting to be her anymore. Maybe that girl on Instagram is happy. Good for her. But skinny doesn’t always equate to happiness.

Maybe for some people measuring out your food and depriving yourself of culinary pleasures is worth it to wear a size 2. Ten years ago, five years ago, for me, it was worth it…or at least I thought it was at the time. I thought being a certain weight, fitting into a specific size of jeans, was going to be what made me feel complete, what made me happy, what made me better. But just because in those pictures I was “Skinny” or “Skinnier than I am now”, didn’t mean I was any better then than I am now. In fact, I think I may be better now, despite, or maybe because of my additional 25 pounds (maybe I gained 25 pounds worth of brain or something…)

To me, the daily struggle with my pants is worth a glass of wine. It’s worth the ice cream. It’s worth the hundreds of recipes I pin on a daily basis (what made me think I could give up good food???). And maybe you understand what I’m saying because the misery of being on one diet (or “lifestyle upheaval”) after another, isn’t worth your happiness and comfort. I know what it feels like to constantly compare of yourself to other people who feel confidant enough to post their half naked pictures on Instagram and Facebook. You never feel like you’ll measure up. Well, once upon a time I did measure up…I was that girl. I’m here to tell you that if she’s posting those pictures, maybe that smile isn’t everything you think it is. Maybe you are happier than she is.

I Can Stop the Cycle of Unhappy Dieting

I can stop my constant diet cycle because I don’t have a food addiction and I’m not grossly obese. Nor do I ever think I will be. I have a healthy appetite and I don’t binge or have an unhealthy relationship with food. I like to run and exercise and I am constantly busy, earning every calorie I eat. Those calories that I’m not going to obsess about anymore. I could work myself out until I collapse and starve myself but you know what? I could be a size 2 and get flattened by a bus tomorrow. Or I could be a size 10 (or 12 or 18) and be happy.

I’m Not a Size 2 (And It Doesn’t Matter)

Yeah, so what if I’m not the girl in the picture on the left anymore? That girl was a size 2 and still thought she was fat. The girl on the left was  worried what other people were thinking of her. She thought if she lost 5 more pounds, 10 more pounds, life would be good. That girl led a crappy life. She dreaded her workouts, had no reason to look forward to her skimpy meals, and didn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

The girl on the right may have a “not-so-perfect body”. She may be flabby, but she’s much more fabulous. She knows she’s a little chunky and frankly, she doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks. That girl earned that extra weight around her middle…she enjoyed putting it there.

She’s not lazy or unmotivated…she just has more important things to worry about than what size her jeans are. She still eats healthy meals. (Translation: a salad for lunch every day.) She does yoga and still hits the gym several times a week.  She’s living in the moment instead of worrying about the future. She’s more likely to eat that chocolate cake she’s been craving. She’ll go for a leisurely walk instead of killing it in spin class if the mood strikes.

Maybe she’ll lose a few pounds, maybe not. But it doesn’t matter because that girl has more time for her family, more time for her hobbies, and more respect for who she is. This girl has accomplished more than the girl on the left and she knows what she’s capable of. She’s not trying to be someone she’s not. She’s not even trying to be someone she was 5 years ago anymore.

This is my “Not-so-perfect body”. This is ME.

The post This is Me (Loving Your Not-So-Perfect Body) appeared first on Author Heather Balog.

Rhode Island Doughboys and Coffee Milk

Rhode Island is really small. In terms of geographical size, that is. It’s the tiniest state in the union at 1,214 square miles, yet it is almost the most densely populated state in the country, second only to good old New Jersey (anyone who lives in Jersey can tell you we definitely have more cars and humans per square foot than anywhere else on the planet…or so it seems.)

In fact, Rhode Island is so small that I’ve been up and down the east coast a hundred times, and Rhode Island is the only state I haven’t entered. I’ve visited Massachusetts and I’ve lived in Connecticut—both states boarder Rhode Island, but I’ve never set foot in the state. It’s crazy. I’ll have to make a point to visit in the future.

Anyway, for a state so tiny, we can’t have a huge meal, right?

***By the way, my blog may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission, at no cost to you if you click on a link and make a purchase.***

The Iconic Foods of Rhode Island Were PERFECT for Breakfast

In my research of Rhode Island, I discovered that two of their most iconic foods went together like…well, peanut butter and jelly. (On a side note, my psycho child has been insisting that PB&J do NOT go together and are in fact, a horrible combination. What a weirdo.) Anyhoo, peanut butter and jelly…or doughboys and coffee milk. The state foods of Rhode Island…perfect for breakfast on a weekend.

What’s a Doughboy?

No, it’s not that cute Pillsbury guy everyone likes to poke. A doughboy is basically deep fried dough—specifically pizza dough—coated with cinnamon or powdered sugar. Not so much like donuts because they’re flattened, but more like zeppoles. I had never heard of a doughboy before, and I wasn’t sure how fried pizza dough with sugar was going to taste, but I was willing to give it a try.

I made the pizza dough the night before and it was much simpler than the pizza dough we used for our Connecticut Clam Pizza and it rolled out soooooooo much easier. It only requires active dry yeast, sugar, salt, flour, olive oil and warm water…ingredients I had at home. Wait, no ill-fated trip to the grocery store for this recipe???? Nope. I know you’re disappointed, but maybe next week I can have a grocery store tale to regale you with.

I made the dough the night before and put it in the fridge (covered) overnight. There was a little confusion as to whether or not I could leave it on the counter—apparently if the dough does not contain eggs, you don’t have to refrigerate it. I still didn’t want to take the chance.

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Making the Doughboys

The next morning I got up early to take the dough out of the fridge so that it would be room temperature before cooking. I really wanted to use my air fryer, but I wasn’t sure how a “deep fried” dough would come out in the air fryer. Besides, it was a Sunday morning treat…screw healthy!

Apparently, since obtaining the air fryer that we all love, we haven’t used our deep fryer once. The deep fryer must have been shocked that it was being used because it was very wonky—the light kept going on and off so I wasn’t sure if it was actually turning off or if there was just something wrong with the light. ***Sigh*** It was a little aggravating, but at least this was a quick breakfast and not a full meal where I had to deal with an obnoxious appliance for a longer period of time. Still, mistakes were made…would you expect anything less from me?

Mistake #1

I soon discovered that we didn’t have enough vegetable oil to fill the deep fryer, so I had to use olive oil. I was promptly chastised by Hubby, aka Mr. Cooking Expert, on how that was a big no no. So if you make this recipe, make sure you use vegetable oil and not olive oil. Not that I think that had any bearing on the actual finished product.

Mistake #2

The recipes online didn’t actually tell me how to “Create” the doughboys. Do you roll them? Pat them? (Mark them with a B????) They only said you could make it with or without holes, although “without” seemed to be the more accepted way. I chose to make both. I made them about the size of donuts. Big mistake.

Mistake #3

I made the first batch and then cooked it in the deep fryer for about 4 minutes. They puffed up quickly and I assumed that they were done. Turns out, I made the doughboys way too big, so the dough didn’t cook thoroughly, leading to a gooey (and not in a pleasant way) center. Also, since the recipe had specifically said not to cook them too long, I probably removed them from the oil too soon. So I made a second batch with much smaller pieces which I left in the deep fryer for 5 minutes until they were golden brown. Those were much better and fully cooked.

Powdered Sugar or Cinnamon?

After removing the doughboys from the deep fryer, I patted them to removed the excess oil. We couldn’t decide whether to have powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, so I made both. I personally think the powdered sugar tasted better, while Hubby preferred the cinnamon sugar. He liked the ones with holes and I liked the ones without. What we did agree on was that they were VERY filling and we didn’t need more than one.

I Almost Forgot the Coffee Milk!

Rhode Islanders love their coffee milk, which is basically coffee syrup in a cold glass of milk. Since we don’t drink it in Jersey, I had to order the coffee syrup online from Dave’s Coffee.

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All you need to do is add a teaspoon or two to your cup of cold milk and stir. You can use the coffee syrup in ice cream or cocktails, too!

I Was Bouncing Off the Walls

Normally I don’t consume a lot of sugar in my diet…especially not at breakfast time. With this meal, I was in sugar overload, and I came crashing down from the high quickly…making me cranky and unpleasant (until I got another meal in me, of course). So if you plan to have the doughboys and coffee for breakfast, make sure you have some snacks on hand when your blood sugar comes plummeting back down to earth.

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Print Yum

Rhode Island Doughboys and Coffee Milk

Ingredients

For the pizza dough:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP kosher salt
2 c. warm water
5 c. all purpose flour, plus 1 c. to sprinkle on rolling surface
2 TBSP olive oil

Instructions

Dissolve yeast in water and stir.
Pour into bowl.
Add salt and sugar and stir.
Add flour.
Use your hands to mix.
Transfer to floured surface and knead until soft and smooth (about 5 minutes). Add more flour if it is too sticky.
Place dough in large bowl with sides coated in olive oil.
Cover with dish towel and allow it to sit for 2 hours to rise.
After it rises, punch it down.
You can store in fridge for up to 3 days. Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes0.1https://thebadmommydiaries.com/rhode-island-doughboys-and-coffee-milk/[image error]

The post Rhode Island Doughboys and Coffee Milk appeared first on Author Heather Balog.

My Kids Outgrew ME

I came to an awful realization the other day. My son had just left to get something to eat with his friends before the football game, dropping his sister of at her friend’s house for a scary movie marathon. Hubby was at work and the dog had gotten into the garbage earlier that day so he was sleeping off a food coma. There was no one to make dinner for and no one to fight when they didn’t eat or like the dinner I made. There was no one to drive anywhere or beg me to take them to the mall.

For a split second, I was overjoyed. I could do what I wanted, eat whatever I wanted, go wherever I wanted to go. In that brief moment, I was giddy…I had my life back! For the first time in 17 years, no one was hanging on me or demanding my attention. So I immediately started thinking about what I should do. Should I go work out? Or maybe read a book? Or go wander around the mall without anyone to bug me to buy them something. Maybe I should go get a pedicure, or even just take a nap?

I Just Couldn’t Decide

With a sinking heart, I realized that the reason I couldn’t decide was that this newfound free time was actually a new life stage. With horror, I though , “Oh my God, I’ve become obsolete to my family!” All those years that I wished for this moment…the moment I could finally do my own thing…it was here and it suddenly terrified me.

A Whole New World

The seemingly endless midnight hours of soothing a colicky baby, which turned into a teething toddler, a preschooler with night terrors, and then a school aged child with “The Sunday Night” affliction that didn’t allow them to sleep—those days are now a thing of the past.

The school projects and the interminable hours of trying to recall third grade math—done. “Hey Mom, watch this” called out a million times an evening as my daughter does a cartwheel or tumblesault or a leap in the pool…done. And so are the games of catch and slow pitching in the backyard. The cutting up their food, the tying their shoes, the wiping their butts, done, done and (thank God) done. The cleaning up the split milk and juice…done (mostly).

Those agonizing moments of not taking my eyes off them as they toddled near the steps…over. The days of reading the same book a million times before they’d finally go to sleep…over. All those times of reminding them to go brush their teeth…over. The agony of making sure they washed their hair…AND rinsed out the shampoo…over.

Everyone Warned Me This Would Happen

But…I just didn’t realize how soon this day would come. Hey, I was the last person on Earth who would have thought I would feel all out of sorts the day I realized my kids didn’t need me anymore. I have plenty of hobbies and interests outside of my children. I was mentally playing this day out in my head as I struggled to get the kids out of the house when they were in elementary school, trying to make sure everyone remembered EVERYTHING they could possibly need for school, making sure no one had knots in their hair (and no, not just the girl child), and everyone had shoes on. I’m pretty sure I was dreaming of this day every time I played the millionth game of “Go Fish” or “Memory” of the night as I longingly stared at the book I had been dying to read—within my grasp, yet so far, far away. I prayed for the day when I didn’t hear “Mom, I thought you were going to wash my uniform/ socks/ underwear/ Buzz Lightyear costume!” I was making plans for the summer that I didn’t have to keep them occupied 24/7 (in separate rooms, camps, states, etc…) And I know for certain that I couldn’t wait to have night where we weren’t trying to scarf down dinner before we had to go to back to school night, football practice, gymnastics, AND grocery shopping all in one night.

What Now?

Is motherhood as I know it over? No. It’s not. It’s just different now. I mean, while they don’t NEED someone to mother them…at least not like they used to, they do need a mother. A mother to comfort them when they have a bad day at school or work. Someone to cheer them on when they are trying something new. A mother to be proud of their accomplishments. Someone to remind them to actually do the things they don’t need me for anymore. They still need me to worry about them and they still need me to listen to them…just not as much as they used to. They need me to be there for them when those moments come. And most importantly, they need a mother to love them them forever…they will be forever my babies…even though they’re big kids. They may not need my hand to hold, but they need to know that my hand is always there for them.

Photo Credit

The post My Kids Outgrew ME appeared first on Author Heather Balog.

My Kids Don’t Need Me Anymore

I came to an awful realization the other day. My son had just left to get something to eat with his friends before the football game, dropping his sister of at her friend’s house for a scary movie marathon. Hubby was at work and the dog had gotten into the garbage earlier that day so he was sleeping off a food coma. There was no one to make dinner for and no one to fight when they didn’t eat or like the dinner I made. There was no one to drive anywhere or beg me to take them to the mall.

For a split second, I was overjoyed. I could do what I wanted, eat whatever I wanted, go wherever I wanted to go. In that brief moment, I was giddy…I had my life back! For the first time in 17 years, no one was hanging on me or demanding my attention. So I immediately started thinking about what I should do. Should I go work out? Or maybe read a book? Or go wander around the mall without anyone to bug me to buy them something. Maybe I should go get a pedicure, or even just take a nap?

I Just Couldn’t Decide

With a sinking heart, I realized that the reason I couldn’t decide was that this newfound free time was actually a new life stage. With horror, I though , “Oh my God, I’ve become obsolete to my family!” All those years that I wished for this moment…the moment I could finally do my own thing…it was here and it suddenly terrified me.

A Whole New World

The seemingly endless midnight hours of soothing a colicky baby, which turned into a teething toddler, a preschooler with night terrors, and then a school aged child with “The Sunday Night” affliction that didn’t allow them to sleep—those days are now a thing of the past.

The school projects and the interminable hours of trying to recall third grade math—done. “Hey Mom, watch this” called out a million times an evening as my daughter does a cartwheel or tumblesault or a leap in the pool…done. And so are the games of catch and slow pitching in the backyard. The cutting up their food, the tying their shoes, the wiping their butts, done, done and (thank God) done. The cleaning up the split milk and juice…done (mostly).

Those agonizing moments of not taking my eyes off them as they toddled near the steps…over. The days of reading the same book a million times before they’d finally go to sleep…over. All those times of reminding them to go brush their teeth…over. The agony of making sure they washed their hair…AND rinsed out the shampoo…over.

Everyone Warned Me This Would Happen

But…I just didn’t realize how soon this day would come. Hey, I was the last person on Earth who would have thought I would feel all out of sorts the day I realized my kids didn’t need me anymore. I have plenty of hobbies and interests outside of my children. I was mentally playing this day out in my head as I struggled to get the kids out of the house when they were in elementary school, trying to make sure everyone remembered EVERYTHING they could possibly need for school, making sure no one had knots in their hair (and no, not just the girl child), and everyone had shoes on. I’m pretty sure I was dreaming of this day every time I played the millionth game of “Go Fish” or “Memory” of the night as I longingly stared at the book I had been dying to read—within my grasp, yet so far, far away. I prayed for the day when I didn’t hear “Mom, I thought you were going to wash my uniform/ socks/ underwear/ Buzz Lightyear costume!” I was making plans for the summer that I didn’t have to keep them occupied 24/7 (in separate rooms, camps, states, etc…) And I know for certain that I couldn’t wait to have night where we weren’t trying to scarf down dinner before we had to go to back to school night, football practice, gymnastics, AND grocery shopping all in one night.

What Now?

Is motherhood as I know it over? No. It’s not. It’s just different now. I mean, while they don’t NEED someone to mother them…at least not like they used to, they do need a mother. A mother to comfort them when they have a bad day at school or work. Someone to cheer them on when they are trying something new. A mother to be proud of their accomplishments. Someone to remind them to actually do the things they don’t need me for anymore. They still need me to worry about them and they still need me to listen to them…just not as much as they used to. They need me to be there for them when those moments come. And most importantly, they need a mother to love them them forever…they will be forever my babies…even though they’re big kids. They may not need my hand to hold, but they need to know that my hand is always there for them.

Photo Credit

The post My Kids Don’t Need Me Anymore appeared first on Author Heather Balog.