Serendipity...

Funny how time gets away from us. I had forgotten about this blog until I Sent a group message to some of my favourite ladies and the link came up. Seems I'm still stuck in the same getting healthy and losing weight battle that I was 4 years ago.

I'm not sure how many times one can say they are ready for a change. Or how many times you can look at yourself in the mirror and make a promise to yourself that you're worth the hard work and dedication. But 6 weeks ago or so I had a breakdown.

I cried for the women I used to be and longed for the women I hoped to become. I've always wanted to get healthy and shed some pounds. It was never about being skinny or fitting in some tiny 2 piece at the beach. It was always about become the healthiest version of myself. But somehow I had lost track of the confidence I once had in myself. I had lost the ability to look in the mirror and tell myself I looked beautiful today. I just couldn't do it, I hated the girl staring back at me so I avoided mirrors. I avoided confronting the fact that things were getting out of hand and I no longer had control of myself. Life was busy and I blamed it all on other things. But then I broke, I lost it and I couldn't keep it in anymore. I couldn't pretend I was happy with myself and just needed to get healthy. I need to get serious, no more pretending.

Through the support of my amazing husband, friends and family and I've been able to take back control. I have been able to face myself in the mirror every morning and I feel amazing about where I am headed. I've started a journey with a whole new way of eating, an amazing coach who I meet with weekly and am trying amazing new foods constantly! I'm beyond excited for where I will be at 1 year from now!

I didn't plan on starting up this blog again...mostly because I had forgotten about it! But I think I'm ready to track this journey and not stumble on this post 4 years from now and regret the time I've wasted not working on myself!

So here's to whats to come! Here's to thanking myself a year from now for what I'm doing today, tomorrow and every day in between! Here's to being worthy of feeling EXTRAORDINARY!

xo A

Mom's Homemade Canned Salsa

I managed to convince my mom to let me share her Salsa Recipe!! If you love a chunky and tangy Salsa than this recipe is for you. This was my first time ever making it so I enlisted the help of both my Mom and Grandma! We had a great girly day slaving in the kitchen haha! We decided to get up early and hit the local farmers market to get all of the veggies we needed. I was shocked at how cheap I was able to get everything! In total I spent $42.00 to make this batch of Salsa! Now that may not seem cheap to some of you but here is an approx break down of my costs!

14 Half Quart Jars ($7.00)
Labels ($4.00)
Sugar ($3.00)
Pickling Salt ($3.00)
Cider Vinegar ($2.00)
All Veggies ($23.00)
TOTAL: $42.00

So when you really look at the cost, the top 5 items are things that I wouldn't necessarily need to go out and buy every time I made this recipe. I also didn't need to get the labels but I wanted my jars to look pretty...I know lame lol. I now own 14 jars, so if I clean and store them properly once they are empty I can use them for next years batch. So over all to make this next year it will only cost me about $23.00! I think that's an amazing cost, considering you would pay in store for this many jars of salsa! I know I usually pay about $4.00 or more for a jar each time I buy one, so 14 jars x $4.00 = $56.00!! Now I love Salsa like a crazy person so having this much on hand is WONDERFUL!

Ok I'm done rambling about how awesome canning is lol

Mom's Homemade Canned Salsa
Makes 3.5 quarts (I doubled mine to get 7 quarts and used 1/2 quart jars)

Per 1/2 Quart (Approx) Calories: 197 | Carbs: 44g | Fat: 1g |Protein: 14g | Sodium: 55mg | Sugar: 25g

8 Cups chopped Roma Tomatoes
4 Cups chopped Yellow Peppers
2 Cups chopped Onion
1 Cup chopped Red or Green Peppers
2 Cups chopped Zucchini
3 Jalapenos or Chili Peppers chopped (seed removed!)
3 TBSP Sugar
2 Cups Cider Vinegar
1 TBSP Pickling Salt
2 TSP Paprika
1 TSP Oregano
1 CUP Tomato Paste

Tools:
1 Large Pot
1 Large Bowl
1 Canning Pot (Or any giant pot will do, especially if your doubling this)
Canning Funnel (if you have one on hand)
Half Quart Jars (14 if doubled)

Notes: We used Roma Tomatoes because they are "meatier" than regular ones and are great for a chunky Salsa. The sugar you can leave out if you would like, my mom has done it both ways and either one turns out great, I did use sugar in mine since it was my first time making it and I like to stick to the recipe. If you have a food processor the chopping time is way faster! There were 3 of us doing it and all the prep took about 40 minutes which will be explained below!

STEP 1: Place a large pot on the stove about 1/2 full of water and bring water to a boil. Fill a large boil with cold water next to the stove. Drop 4-6 tomatoes into the boiling water. (This step is to help with the peeling of the tomatoes) Only leave the tomatoes in for a few minutes, just enough that when you touch the tip of a knife to them the skin peels back. Take tomatoes out and place them into the bowl of ice water.  Peel tomatoes and chop them into quarters and place them into the canning pot. repeat this step until you have your 8 cups of tomatoes. (Since I doubled mine I ended up using 50 tomatoes!!!)

STEP 2: Chop and measure all of your vegetables. Once you have done this you can place them into the canning pot as well! Larger chunks will allow for a chunkier salsa and smaller chucks a not so chunky salsa LOL :)

I wanted to sneak a pic of just the tomatoes but Mom and Grandma were
flying through the chopping and dumping things in on me! LOL!



STEP 3: Place your giant pot of veggies onto the stove and set to medium heat. Add in all other ingredients and stir!

STEP 4: Now that you have everything in the pot and on the stove cover and let it simmer for 2 hours! Be sure to keep a close eye on it and adjust the temperature accordingly if it begins to stick or burn. I was sure to stir mine every 15-20 minutes just to be sure. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or wine if you would like :) and wait it out!

STEP 5: You will want to sterilise your jars! We started this process about 20 minutes before our 2 hours of simmering was up. The easiest thing to do is fill a clean sink with boiling water and place your jars and lids into the sink and let them sit. Some people fill another large pot with water and bring it to a boil, but I didn't have another pot on hand. While your jars are sterilising you can take a taste of your salsa and see if you would like to add anymore spices. I added a little bit of Cayenne pepper to get some heat. (Next time I may leave some of the seeds in the jalapenos for some added heat)

STEP 6: You will notice some slimy gunk coming to the top of your simmering salsa. This is basically the impurities coming out of your veggies. You will want to skim this off of the top of the Salsa as best you can and toss it away. If something is going to cause it to spoil while sitting in your pantry...this is it. Of course getting it all off isn't always possible but do your best.

STEP 7: It's been just over 2 hours of simmering and its time to get canning! Pull your jars out from the hot water using tongs! Place the jars on a cookie sheet or lasagna pan (to avoid a mess on your counter!) If you have a canning funnel on hand place it inside of on of the jars and start scooping your salsa in! You jars will be hot so please be careful! Fill each jar right to the very top, leaving very little space! Repeat this step until all your jars are filled.

My Mom was nice and brought her canning funnel, which helped so much!

STEP 8: Place the lids on each jar. Make sure that there isn't any juice of seeds on the rims of your jars. This will prevent them from sealing properly and is another thing that will cause your Salsa to spoil on the shelf. Place the lid on the jar and tighten! You don't need to tighten them so much that you can't get the lid off come dinner time, but make sure its on there good! Place you jars on towel on the cupboard to let them cool. As they are cooling you will here them "pop" this is just them sealing themselves, and is a good thing!

You did it! Congratulations on your giant batch of Salsa! Once they have cooled you can label them if you would like. I bought  dissolvable labels so that the jars are easy to clean off for next year!

ENJOY!

*EDIT* If your jars all seal properly and you place them on your pantry shelf, they should last up to 2 years or more. My mom was using up the last of her 2 year old batch not to long ago. There is always a risk of it spoiling just like anything with canning. But if you do everything I said above you will lower that risk so much. My mom has never had a jar spoil on her! Once you have opened a jar and put it in the fridge, it will last at least a month or more. I eat mine far to quickly for it to ever spoil so this is very approximate!



September...IT'S ON BABY!!

(Found this on Pinterest and it made me smile! Take that FEAR!)

Alright so summer is coming to an end very quickly. Unlike most people I'm so happy for this! First of all it's too damn hot! I mean when I roll out of bed in the morning and brush my teeth I should not be breaking a sweat. Don't even get me started on blow drying my giant head of hair! This summer seems to have been filled with smog advisories and one too many warnings about not leaving your home due to extreme heat. Brent and I have been very busy all summer and the odd weekends we've had at home have been to play catch up from the weeks prior. Don't get me wrong I love going out with friends and family and exploring and trying new things but its tiring sometimes and add in some major sun burns and sleepless nights...its killer!

Anyways, back to what I came here to tell you! Fall is my favorite season hands down, not only does my hair look much better but I can go and play outside and not die of heat stroke! (Yes I'm very dramatic about hot weather!) I'm going to be a part of 2 Challenges this September which excite me to no end!

Challenge 1:
Set a goal for how many calories you will burn this month
Set a goal for how many miles you will walk this month
(Please notice it’s will and not want! I'm tired of wanting, I'm making things happen stat!)

My Calorie Goal: 6000 (1500 Weekly)
My Mile Goal: 60 (14 Miles Weekly)

This isn't a challenge to win something. Just a friendly challenge put on by one of my favorite MFP (My Fitness Pal) pals! This is going to help me keep my head in the game and get myself up and moving! She sets up a spreadsheet online for all those interested and we just log our daily progress. I'm also going to do up a chart to put right up in the middle of my fridge!

Challenge 2:
This challenge is going to be with a group of fabulous ladies who I got to know mostly through MFP (notice a trend...I'm telling you MFP has been an amazing tool in this journey and the people are fabulous!) myself and this group of ladies have an Accountability group outside of MFP and we are going to be doing what we are calling a "Care Package Challenge". The goal with this challenge is to lose the highest percentage of weight during the 10 weeks. We will be doing 5 weigh in's (So every 2 weeks) and there will be a spreadsheet tracking out progress. At the end of the challenge the person with the highest percentage wins a "girly" care package. Contents are mostly going to be a surprise.

So basically what I'm saying is I plan on kicking some serious butt come September! No more excuses, no more waiting for tomorrow and no more not giving myself 100% effort! I love these challenges because they keep me on track but I also love supporting the people along with me for them! I learn so much from them and I hope I can give them the same in return!

So my advice to you, Challenge yourself everyday! Even the smallest challenge plays an important part in the big picture! We are worth fighting for and we are most definitely worth push ourselves to the max!!

Why am I here?!

Lady bugs and butterflies scare the living crap outta me! I’m not talking “oh yuck there’s a butterfly” I’m talking full on running away arms in the air freaking out scared! I know I know what the heck right? I couldn’t tell you how this started or why it is but it is, so I’ve accepted it and I’m not afraid to share it! What I am hesitant to share is that I’m scared for my future if I don’t make some permanent changes fast and I've decided I'm no longer accepting this fear and I'm going to bloody well change it!

If you’re still with me I’ll introduce myself! I’m Alicia and I’ve never blogged before nor did I ever think I would, so be patient with me and feel free to toss in some advice if I’m doing something I shouldn’t! Ok where was I...

The names Alicia, I’m 26 years old and married to an amazing man (I’ll fill you in on him later!) I’m an Administrative Manger at a Driving School and I love my job! However what I don’t love is I sit on my butt all day at a computer. This brings me into why I decided to start this fancy little blog. I’ve always been classified as the “curvy girl” I was never considered chubby or fat from what I can remember. I've never looked like what I weigh; people have always said I'm solid as a rock like my Dad, so I never worried. But in recent years things took a turn for the worst. The pounds were piling on and what used to be curves began to slowly disappear. I tried all sorts of diet tricks and plans and would lose some and give up and pile on double what I had lost. But I remember the day I realized I needed to make a change.

I woke up like any other day, went through my usual routine and started breakfast. I decided to step on the scale. Let me just say this was both a bad idea and one of the best things I've ever done. I'm patiently waiting for the numbers to settle on what they want to be, not paying much attention at all...they stop flashing. I swear to you my heart skipped a beat and I stopped breathing for a second. I stood in the bathroom and I cried and cried and cried. How had I let myself get this out of control? A million questions and excuses played in my mind and then it hit me. NO FREAKIN' MORE! I'm done doing this to myself.

Now let’s fast forward to today, 7 months later! I made a commitment to myself that dreadful day to work my butt of and get myself back on track and live a healthy lifestyle. I've spent countless hours reading, watching and learning all sorts of things about health, weight loss and life. My Fitness Pal has been an amazing tool throughout these 7 months and I've made some pretty amazing friends in such a short time. I've lost 38 pounds so far and I've got a long way to get to my "Ultimate Goal" but I've learned to take notice in the smaller changes in between my starting point and finishing point. I'll be honest throughout the past months I've fallen off of the "wagon" more than once but I always get back on! This has actually become a common thing I say to myself...

Ok back to my fear of my future! I know that if I hadn't made the decision to make a change 7 months ago I would be writing my own death sentence essentially. I'm still terrified that I will get every health problem out there related to obesity. I'm afraid I won’t be able to have kids one day. There are just so many scenarios and things that could happen if I don't continue on the path to a healthier lifestyle. I don't like to share how scared I am with many people because frankly so many people just don't understand. And there is nothing worse than hearing "oh Alicia you're overreacting, you're just fine" ...excuse me?! People don't just weigh what I weigh and get away with it and when it comes to my health and future I don't think I could ever "overreact" enough!

I hope you're still with me at this point and thank you if you are! With this blog I hope to share my goals, achievements and every struggle with you along the way. It's not an easy road to travel but it’s one I strongly believe we can't do alone.

Cheers!

My First Blog EVER!

Well here I am...

I've never done a blog, nor do I know anything about blogging, so please be patient with me while I set up my page and get into the groove of things!

I started this because I needed to add something new to my routine and goals in weight loss. I heard blogging helped and sharing my story and every struggle with the world might help me with accountability.

I've been working at getting healthier and making better choices in general. It’s been about 7 months since I started this long bumpy road to a healthier and happier me. It's not easy and anyone who tells you it is, well they are downright lying. It's hard; there are roadblocks and temptations at every turn. But, I know it will be worth it in the end and that’s what I've got to remember and keep telling myself.

That's it for now! Once I've gotten the hang of this I will be posting my introduction and some pictures! For now here is a bit of motivation!

Cheers and Happy Tuesday!