#eat your veggies ya'll

[00belle00lovely00]

I recently discovered teo ships that i like, so question. If we mix them, what do we get (yes im talking about the ships involving hoppy and Kinkin and hoppy and picky) so i just made this poly ship: kinkin, hoppy, and picky. Do you have any headcanons or thoughs about them?

OML MORE POLY SHIPSSSS YEAAAAHHHH!

OKAY, YOU ASK, I DELIVER DWDWDW!

💚💛🩷⚡⭐🍎💚💛🩷⚡⭐🍎💚💛🩷⚡⭐🍎💚💛🩷💚

They are "i'll do it for $10/a biscuit" coded

Due to Kickin's and Hoppy's intense nature of constantly going up and about doing whatever activity they come across, Picky acts into a motherly nature. Making sure they're healthy, packing up their bags if they randomly decide to go climbing somewhere, and of course taking care of their wounds which happens REGULARLY.

Picky be cookin pancakes for the two energetic smunchkins.

As said before hand in another headcanon, Kickin be tryinna pathetically rizzing up Hoppy with downright terrible pick up lines. Picky isn't an exception, as he would constantly try it on both of the at the same time. Of course, Hoppy and Picky are so amused/used to this that they don't have the heart to tell him he can quit trying to catch their attention.

Is it just me or Picky in my head plays out as a ranch gal.

Their date would be played out in my head as on going to a fancy resturant for Picky's sake, why may i ask? THEY BE PULLIN UP 'EM SUITS YA'LL!!!

"eat up your veggies" x two people sayin "ewww broccoli!"

Picky might not look like it, but DAMN SHE BE A STRONG GAL! BE CARRYING HER LOVERS LIKE NOTHIN,

DUDE MY FAVORITE HEADCANON: PICKY SNORTS WHILE SHE LAUGHS.

PDA? Dude- their love language would pretty much cheering eachother up to their dumb bullshit.

Even though Pickypiggy is the voice of reason whenever it's about 'eating healthy' I'd imagine she got bunch of problems eating food herself. Like- Hoppy and Kickin be waking up in the middle of the night to sounds over at the kitchen, confused over if someone had snucked into their house, but once they go downstairs and turn on the lights they find Picky eating up an abomination of nutella, leftovers, apples and cereal. Yes, they have talked to her about it. Did she listen? Nope.

EXTRA:

Dogday: "Oh! Sooo... you three are together now?"

Kickin: "Yeah! Basically. Pretty rad, right?"

Dogday: "i mean, yeah! I just.. didn't expect you to be dating Hoppy though"

Hoppy: "... what do you mean by that?"

Dogday:" i mean- don't get me wrong, if you want to date a girl and a guy at the same time, i completely-"

Hoppy: "oh my GOSH- FOR THE LAST TIME- I'M A WOMAN. IM REFINED AND ELEGANT LIKE A DELICATE FLOWER YOU-"

[bridgeportbritt]

The Brown Residence | Brindleton Bay, Simerica

???: Hey, fam! I'm home!

???: Jenny! Hi, sweetness. How are you?

Jennifer: I'm good, mom. How are you? Where's Dad and Dennis?

Rainbow: I'm alright. They'll probably come down once they smell the food. Want to help me in the kitchen?

Jennifer: Yeah, sure.

Rainbow: So, what time is your friend coming over?

Jennifer: Pretty soon. He's coming straight from work.

Rainbow: Ah okay. Dennis spoke pretty highly of him.

Jennifer: Yeah, they seemed to hit it off at Halloween. Hopefully, you and Dad do too.

Rainbow: Hopefully, he's as great as ya'll say. Help me stir those veggies will you?

Jennifer: I think you will think so. He's got a good job, comes from a good family, plus he's really funny and thoughtful.

Rainbow: And where'd you meet him?

Jennifer: Remember when I was volunteering at the homeless shelter last summer? He was volunteering there, as well.

Rainbow: Okay, that's a good sign. 'Cause I have read some other things that-

???: Smells good in here! Must be a dynamic duo in the kitchen!

Jennifer: Hi, Dad!

Dennis Sr: Hi, baby girl. How are you?

Jennifer: I'm good. How are you?

Dennis Sr.: Well, I hear there's a boy coming over so I could be better.

Jennifer: Dad. He's great, I promise. You're going to love him.

Dennis Sr.: I hope so. Can't just let anyone snatch up my Baby Girl.

Jennifer: These are examples of things you all shouldn't say when my boyfriend is here.

DJ: Good luck, these two run away all my ladies.

Jennifer laughs: Hi, Dj.

Rainbow: And what ladies are these? The ones you have plastered all over your bedroom wall? Bring a real girl over here and then we'll talk.

DJ: Dang, mom. You stay cramping my style.

Jennifer chuckles: I'm sure the ladies love DJ.

Doorbell rings

The Browns in Unison: Come in!

Gianni: Hello, Brown family!

Jennifer: Hi, Gianni. You're just in time for dinner. You already know DJ, this is my mom, Rainbow, and my dad, Dennis.

Dennis Sr.: Hi there!

Rainbow: Welcome, Gianni.

Jennifer: Here. I'll take your coat. Have a seat.

Gianni: This food tastes amazing! You did a great job, J, Mrs. B.

Jennifer: Thanks, Gianni. I'm glad you like it.

Rainbow: Thank you. I'm guessing you don't have home cooking a lot with your parents away.

Gianni: Yeah, my mom wasn't much of a cook, but I can't complain. Always ate good.

Dennis Sr. laughs: I'm sure you did! I can't imagine food cooked by Royal chefs is all that bad!

Gianni chuckles: Yeah, it's alright.

Rainbow: And what about your dad's side? You know before he... went to jail.

DJ: Someone's been doing their homework...

Jennifer: Mom...

Rainbow: What? I'm just trying to get to know him. Isn't that what we're here for?

Gianni: It's okay! Really. I'm an open book.

Rainbow: Good. Because I read this article. Let me pull it up. Ah "New Flavor of the Week: Gianni Spotted with 5th Girl this Month." I'd love for you to be open about that.

Jennifer: Please excuse my mother. You don't have to answer these questions if you don't want to. You know I don't care about that kind of stuff.

Gianni: No, I don't want anyone to have any doubt about me. Yes, I used to... date around. You know, young, single, wealthy guy in Del Sol.

Rainbow: And what about now? Is Jennifer the new flavor of the week?

Gianni: No. Jennifer isn't a flavor. She's more like an enhancer. She makes everything better, including me. She's more than what I need or deserve. I'm really lucky to have her.

Jennifer: Aw, thanks, Gianni.

Rainbow: Mhmmm. Good answer.

DJ: That was smooth, man. I'm taking notes.

Rainbow: Maybe you should be taking notes, so you can finally bring home one of these ladies you keep talking about!

Laughter

DJ laughs: Why you keep coming for me, Ma?

Jennifer: Don't worry! We know your time is coming, DJ! But it might help if you left this house.

Dennis Sr.: House? Try his room!

Laughter

DJ: Alright, I'm eating upstairs.

Dennis Sr.: Well, it looks like you survived the interrogation portion of the evening, son. Now we've moved on to the roasting portion. You still interested in being involved with this family?

Gianni: Well... I imagine I can't take a roast to seriously from a family who still has their Halloween decorations up for some reason? It's nearly Spring!

Laughter

Jennifer: And they are so tacky, too!

DJ: The tackiest!

Rainbow: Tell that to that big hat you're wearing at the dinner table!

Laughter

[melancholysway]

TMNT Headcanons - Allergies!

Things the boys are allergic to because I’m lactose intolerant & I still need time to do my requests yet stay active so I'm posting my drafts for the time being LMAO

Leonardo

Eggs. I don't know why, but I hc that all Leo's are allergic to eggs.

Not that it has a big impact on him, he usually eats traditional Japanese meals. However, some of them do include eggs, so he uses the plant based egg alternative as a placeholder.

Since 2012 Mikey cooks for everyone, he's conscious of the ingredients he puts into the food. If a recipe is egg dominant, like a cake or pasta, he makes a special desert/meal for his big brother. He might make a flourless/egg-less cake, and use chickpea pasta instead of the regular.

Bayverse Leo just omits everything with eggs. For breakfast, he usually reaches for toast anyway.

2012 Leonardo eats a struggle meal at breakfast. Since they're limited to breakfast foods, he usually eats cereal.

P.S: He really likes Special K vanilla and almond cereal. <3

Rise!Leo is the first to actually try and eat it to see how bad his reaction would be. Spoiler: he has to bench in the bed for a week. Yeah, it's that bad. Mix that in with a rash and he's never trying that again.

2007 Leo is more plant-based anyway, since he lived a year in the jungle. So, he's used to not eating anything but fruits or nuts.

Raphael

This boy is sensitive to milk. It may be because I wanna pass the lactose intolerant torch down to one of the turtles, but I seriously think Raphael does not like dairy milk anyway.

Bayverse & 2007 Raph are seriously into their physique. They have a good balance of meats and veggies, but can’t have dairy milk.

He likes Almond milk.

Not only is almond milk a great alternative for non-dairy drinkers, but you get much more calcium that way!

I also headcanon that although the guys eat pizza all the time like in the shows, Raph is the one who doesn't eat it as much. He's way too into his body to mess up his progress. He eats it in moderation. Plus, cheese is a dairy product, but it doesn't mess him up like dairy milk does.

Rise!Raph is massive, so I imagine a tiny little ounce of cow's milk messing him up to be very fitting.

2012 Raph tries to thug out his milk intolerance, but it never goes well. Long story short, after many days of feeling lethargic and throwing up, he knows better.

Donatello

SHELLFISH YALL

turtle shell puns aside

Donatello is allergic to shell fish and I feel so bad because I LOVE me some crab.

I just know Raph clowns him for it to and they bicker over which allergy is worse.

R: Don try this Cali roll, oh wait, ya cant!

D: Wow this milkshake is great! have a try raph! oh wait...whoops! I'll just give it to Mikey.

Always always always!

Do not invite him to your takeout sushi shindig, he will not be able to eat anything.

Leo is the one who usually eats fish, so whenever Mikey makes his special plate, Donnie audibly gags. It's not just the fact that he's allergic, it's the smell.

2012 Donnie really hates fighting FishFace because of the smell

it makes him wanna throw up.

So a lot of the times he just wants to get in and get out when a mission involves fighting Xever.

2007 and Bayverse donnie live off of small snacks, so they don't ever have to think about their food containing fish

Rise!Donnie makes this joke everytime he eats goldfish crackers

"Guys look, I'm eating fish," *wiggles eyebrows*

everyone else: :|

Michelangelo

GLUTEN

Now here ya'll go in the comments

bUt MeLanChOLY, MiKeY'S AlWAys EaTinG PiZZa!!!

OKAY!?!!?!?!

Gluten free pizza ;)

No i swear it. He has some sort of intolerance. You know how sometimes you may eat a certain food so much that after a while your body just rejects it?

It's not pizza his body's rejecting though, it's gluten.

So now, he's in a frenzy, when Donnie told him, he gave him a sad puppy-eyed look & said

"So...I can't....have...pizza anymore? For forever??"

He's happy when Donnie says he still can.

They have to order gluten--free pizza now. But rejoice! Times are changing, diet culture is changing, the world is changing! Gluten free options are pretty much everywhere! Woohoo!

I feel like Rise!Mikey is PISSED he can't eat bagels. I feel like he would love a mean everything bagel with cream cheese.

But, do not fear, there are gluten free breads available!

2012 Mikey just gets gluten-free everything now. It's mainly the gluten from bread, but just for fun, he'll get gluten free snacks

2007 & Bayverse Mikey go on strike and try to not eat anymore pizza to see if it'll "reset his body,"

Raph bursts his bubble and let's him now that's not how allergies or intolerances work

"Take it from someone who ain't had milk in years, mikey."

Taglist:

@bee-1n-space Masterlist

[erinbeast]

Mererid’s Gardens

Mererid puts a lot of pride into his ability as a gardener (and plant enthusiast) and deicides what gets planted and where.  There are many gardens spread through the Imperial Palace, inside and out.  

 Outside are many vegetable patches and groves of fruit bearing plants.  

Mererid ensures that the vegetable patches have:

Carrots: Three types appear in the patches; Candysnax which is delightfully sweet and disease resistant carrot, Purple Sun, a dark purple carrot that when cut open reveals a yellow/orange sunburst in the middle, and Dragon, a more wild variety of carrot that is a but spicy similar to radishes.   Mererid himself prefers the Dragon variety while our dear Emperor will sneak the Candysnax variety out of harvest basket not being actively tended to.  Purple Suns are used during banquets and feasts, as out of the darkness comes the sun.

Celeriac: Also known as Celery Root is a wonderful little nutty tasting root that stores incredibly well and makes for a good snack that’s easy to eat even while working in the gardens, throughout the palace, or behind a desk or pacing.  Also used in many stews and will occasionally be served mashed at dinner.

Garlic is a staple in the Imperial Palace and among Nilfgaard in general, every house has some. The two varieties you’ll find are; Bavarian Purple, noted for its very strong flavor, and the Chesknok Red, which is incredibly nice in cooking.  Bavarain Red is mostly used chopped or fined diced in spreads and dips.  The cooks in the palace will use recipes from anywhere, however they always add more garlic than the recipe calls for.  Who only uses 1 clove of garlic?!

Lettuce is another staple with two varieties.  Milagro, a hearty disease resistant lettuce that is sweet and tender, Butter Crunch which does well in hot summers and into the fall season and holds well for a lettuce. Bullet Lettuce is sprinkled throughout as a sort of ‘back-up’ lettuce as it is a vigorous and hardy type.

Arugula which is mainly used in salads for small dinners hosted by the Emperor, comes in two types; Bellezia which is a hardy type, great for the sometimes drastic changes in between Nilfgaard seasons; and Speedy, which is quick to harvest.

Onions pop up in almost every vegetable patch as they are used for almost every dinner, feast, and banquet within the palace.  Among the varieties you’ll find Oneida, a large onion that stores well for long periods of time; Monastrell, a disease and sun burn resistant type that’s a boon in the summer time; and Talon, a type of onion that can grow almost anywhere, even where most won’t even start to try and have a long storage life.  A chef once accidentally dropped sliced onion into hot oil and now both Mererid and Emhyr can’t seem to get enough of fried onions. A few guests have also taken to them and try to replicate the dish.  

Wega Parsley is the main strain of parsley you’ll find throughout Nilfgaard known for its tough nature that prevents bolting and bitterness and can be harvested late in the growing season.

Pepper plants pop up in planters around the palace they serve as colorful decoration and a source of food.  Candy Cane Chocolate Cherry are best at being both.  Their foliage is fantastic and the peppers produced are sweet and crisp. Emhyr hates noisy food, any crunching or slurping will drive him mad(more so than usual I suppose) but he makes an exception when Mererid munches on these as the man looks too damn happy to guillotine.  Padron, a shishito like pepper that is sturdy and produces peppers all season long for a continuous harvest.

Potatoes are found in large numbers in a few patches with Dark Red Norlands, which produce a heavy yield and are disease resistant, to the Carola which are resistant to disease but still require monitoring but, produce a heavy harvest.  A staple on the plate of almost every dinner and feast.  Do not mash them, the Emperor will have your head for it.  Mererid bless him, can only sigh and shake his head and secretly mash potatoes for him and few others servants/slaves.  

Sweet Potatoes, a favorite of the Emperor when roasted with salt and olive oil.  The Beauregard is the go to for being sweet and does well in cooler times.

Radishes, of which Mererid will go out and get a few and eat straight from the garden, you’ll find the Nile, which does well in heat, produces a sweet spicy root and edible leaves used for cooking.  The Celeste can be found near fall as the are wet/cold tolerant and can stay in the field for sometime before being unharvestable.  

Squashes of many varieties can be found; the Chiffon which grows upwards on tresses, or Cube of Butter which is a low growing kind with a heavy harvest.  Butterbaby saves some room on the ground by growing on tresses like the Chiffon and is known for a sweet and rich fruit.  The Golden Star has a tight plant and is disease resistant with a continuous harvest.  Squash rarely shows up on the Emperor’s plate, Mererid however will always take some if there is any to be had, just a small bit.  

Olympic Spinach can be found year round in the vegetable patches and on the table, Emhyr likes a good strawberry spinach salad and it’s an almost guaranteed way to make him eat something, at least in the summer time.  

[sweatandwoe]

Chapter 14 was amazing, melted my heart! When Jinx was like “he misses you” I was like YOU BETTER SILCO ¯\_( ಠ_ಠ)_/¯

I have…a request…I’d love to see some protective/overprotective!Silco with secret ingredients reader? With them already being in a established relationship?

He misses her food. Obviously just that. Not her company. Not her doing his medicine and making him feel good. Just the food, right guys?

And ohhh, here's a quick drabble about that!

Secret Ingredient!reader x Silco

--

“Hey, do you work here?”

You blinked and turned to the man who you had seen the past few days at The Last Drop. You had also seen how he’d been eyeing you the past few days. Silco had been busy, so you had made your way through the club to get things for him. Meals, a drink, sometimes bringing Jinx up to say goodnight when he grew so busy that the leaving his desk was more of an obstacle.

Most nights now when you headed up to drop off a meal or a drink, you made sure to grab everything in one go. You also kept a spare toothbrush in his bathroom, and extra sets of clothes in the dresser. You had been staying there more and more often, but you still didn't want to intrude on his space.

And you hadn’t missed how this man had been showing up every past few nights and always seemed to be trying to catch your eye. You were a little flattered, and gave a small nod. “Yes. Silco’s assistant most nights now.”

He grinned, and he looked rather handsome when he did so. Perhaps in another life you might’ve taken that plunge. “What about on nights you're off?”

You gave a small smile. “I’m with my boyfriend.”

The smile fell, and he blushed a little. He moved a hand to the back of his neck. “Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” You waved him off, until you both laughed. He wasn’t so bad, and at least made for a little interesting conversation as you went to the back of the bar to grab the concessions for the night.

It did feel a little awkward when he followed you to the stairs, your hands full of the small tray. “So what does your boyfriend do?”

“Oh, all sorts. It’s Zaun so any odd job will do.”

“Doesn’t have a stable career, huh?”

Okay maybe he wasn’t as nice as you had thought.

You provided a narrow look, only to feel your eyes widen as his hands began to tremble around his drink. You didn’t think your angriest of faces would’ve even been that scary, least of all to a stranger. It took a moment for you to see that he wasn’t looking at your face, but above it.

And then you felt a sudden touch of a hand on the small of your back. A quick glance up and you saw Silco, glaring so heavily at the other man you were a little surprised by it. His teeth were even bared, before he snarled two simple words. “Get out.”

The man didn’t object, more sense now than stupidity as he quickly exited the drop.

Silco led you up the stairs in silence, and you felt oddly like a child that was about to be scolded. Even though you hadn’t done anything wrong.

“You’re too nice.” He said once his office door was closed behind the both of you. You set down the tray on the coffee table, watching as he walked past you to his desk.

“I told him I had a boyfriend.”

“But you let him keep talking with you.” He sat down. And then held himself away from the desk, fixing you a pointed look. It only took you a moment to join him there, settling into his lap as he tucked the chair in the desk, mindful of your body. You could see some reports still needed to be done.

“I was about to tell him off.” You tried, watching as he drew up a pen.

He only hummed a bit, beginning to tick off notes. His head settling onto your shoulder. You could tell his thoughts were churning, feeling his jaw start work a little against your shoulder. After a few minutes he finally opened his mouth. “I think I should walk you from now on.”

Your eyes rolled far too used to this behaviour now. You shifted to look at him, facing him now as you straddled him in the chair. He leaned back in his chair automatically, as you smiled at him. “It’s less than thirty feet from your office and Jinx’s room.”

“Plenty of time for anyone to go up to you.”

“And plenty of time for me to get away.” You reached out, running a hand over his cheek. “You could always come down and dance with me. Share a drink or something.”

“Or I could keep you here.” His hands came up to your waist, suddenly and tightly gripping it. Dragging his thumbs along the covered skin. “Keep you locked away with me all day.”

Your hands found his shoulders, trying not to show how much you terribly liked what he was doing with his hands. But he knew as he ran a thumb along your side. “I doubt you’d get much work done.”

You could feel his smile, curving before your eyes. “Stop being a vixen then.”

You leaned in, smiling more as he leaned forward. Meeting your mouth as you whispered against his lips. “For you? Never.”

He would have to wake up early the next morning to finish his work.

[ageofdragon]

I always love the smell of invalidating pansexuality in the morning, makes me want to kick someone's ass. ya'll leave the iron bull the fuck alone

[beansprout1425]

TW: ED

ATTENTION TO ALL MY LOVELY BEANS!!!

Thanksgiving is coming up, though I do not celebrate it (I'm native american, I think ya'll know why LOL) but to give "thanks" to those that do have dinners with their families, I want to give you a few tips to survive the dreadful feasts!

·Go for any fruit/veggie trays, that's your safe foods! (Make sure fruits aren't glazed!)

·Be careful on salami and cheese platters, they have a lot more calories than you think!

·If you REALLY have to eat in front of the whole family, eat whatever you think can fit on BOTH of your palms!

·Soups and stews are your best friend! Only have a cup and most likely it's maximum 200-300cal

·Drink a lot of water before the dinner starts!

·DO NOT PURGE!!! Thanksgiving foods cling to your stomach and will NOT COME UP!

·The day after Thanksgiving, whatever calories you usually burn, times that by 2, or if you lift weights increase by 10 pounds to burn off that extra fat! Ex: If you run for 30 minutes, increase the incline to 5% to help burn extra calories.

I hope you guys find some of my tips useful!

[cheerstotheelites-if]

Peridot – favorite weapon (literal or figurative) for all the ROs?

From this ask list

I'm gonna make this as weird as possible

Weylyn: A skillet… for some reason

Fleur: Glaring at people until they submit

Zephyrine: Probably her shoe… or a sandal

Eliseo: A glass bottle, need I say more

Cooper: Whatever he finds…??? Even if it's some random leaf he found (eat your veggies ya'll)

Ophelia: Probably her fountain pen or letter opener for the casual s t a b b y

[theonlyjourneythatmatters]

Another day, another pound

So I know I said I was going to post yesterday, but I had a very long day and I was tired, so I didn't feel like it. I've struggled this week with motivation and energy and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because of this heat- I don't know.

But with that said, I'm here now. And I've learned a few things! As I've said before, I am no expert and do not claim to be. I just know what's been working for me and that I can share that knowledge and experience with ya'll. So here we go.

What I learned this week:

It's better to get your bulk calories in at the beginning of the day. Breakfast should be your heaviest calorie meal. If you prefer a light breakfast, then focus your calories at lunch. This is because you're more likely to work off those calories during the day than you are at night after dinner. I know a lot of people prefer a heavy dinner- but this is a major reason why that weight doesn't come off like you want it to. You're not burning off those dinner calories!

Everything you do burns calories. Well, I didn't JUST learn this- I've known this. But for some reason, it didn't click! So don't think ONLY strenuous exercise will help you burn calories. Of course, exercise will help you burn them faster in a shorter amount of time, but if you can't get to the gym every day, you're still burning calories.

My apple watch tracks everything. I wear it from the time I get up in the morning til I'm ready to lay down for the night. And what's better than counting my steps? It counts the calories burned, too! Adding this at the end of the night helps me keep a better estimate of what I've taken in vs put out for the day for calories. Do yourself a favor- invest in something that keeps track of that (watch, fitbit, etc). It is well worth the money especially for weight loss.

Sundays are for meal-prep!!!

I meal prep for the following week(s) on Sundays. I typically prep every other Sunday for my work lunches. I do -not- meal prep for dinners.

Every Sunday, I prep my snacks for the week (usually strawberries and blue berries). If there's a new item I want to eat, I'll prep that up as well. Today, I wanted to add cabbage soup to the work lunch mix. SO, that's what I did. I made it in the instant pot, so this is the instant pot recipe- but this can be adapted for a regular stove top. I included pictures for reference so ya'll can see the sizes.

I also decided to meal-prep some breakfast; which I do not normally do. But the meal replacement shakes don't seem to be working as well as they had been previously, so I'm going to retire them for a bit.

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

2 heads cabbage, medium; chopped in large chunks

3 pieces of thick sliced bacon (I used Great Value brand); chopped and cooked

1 15oz can tomato sauce (Great Value)

1 bag Premium matchstick carrots (Bolthouse Farms- 3.5 oz bag)

1 sweet Vidalia onion, medium size; chopped in small pieces

1 tbsp. of the following: course sea salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, Slap ya Mama Cajun seasoning (or Tony Cacheres- I like my soup to have a bit of a kick, but you can decrease or increase this amount to suit your tastes)

7 cups water (divided- explained in steps)

Directions:

Put the instant pot on sauté and set for 20 minutes. Chop the 3 pieces of bacon into bite sized pieces and begin to cook them until brown. (I cooked mine a little longer so the crisp wasn't completely lost in the soup)

While the bacon is cooking, start cutting up both heads of cabbage. Cut them into 1-1 & 1/2 inch chunks after removing the core. Set aside in large bowl.

Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, add 1/2 cup of water to "deglaze" the pot. This gets up all of that stuck-to-the-bottom flavor that you need. DO NOT DRAIN THE BACON. We need the grease.

Begin to add the cabbage a hand full at a time, making sure it mixes with the water and bacon pieces. Allow each batch to wilt down some before adding the next batch. Continue with the cabbage until it's all incorporated. Once complete, add 1/2 cup of water.

Add the carrots and mix with the cabbage and bacon mixture.

Add all of your seasonings into 1 cup of water and pour over the top of the cabbage. You can mix it now if you want to, or you can wait.

Set the instant pot to pressure cook, and set for 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes is passed, allow the pot to Natural Release for another 10 minutes. After the Natural Release is done, use the manual release. * NOTE: this is a dish with a good amount of liquid. Use a potholder to dish towel to put over the valve when you do the manual release to avoid any splattering liquids.

Once the pressure is released, stir the soup and taste test it. Add any seasonings you feel like it may need.

Chop the onion into small pieces and add it to the soup. Add the entire can of tomato soup, and 5 more cups of water. Stir well. Pressure cook for another 2 minutes and allow to Natural Release for another 10 minutes. Give it one last stir and taste test, and enjoy!

Step one: Sauté the bacon. Ya'll see all that bacony flavored goodness stuck to the bottom?? We WANT that.

Step two: Cut the cabbage. Size isn't that important- but you do want bigger pieces as cabbage likes to shrink!

Step Four & Five: Mix the cabbage and carrots and allow to wilt a little bit

Finished product: big bowl of deliciousness

This recipe yields 20 cups of soup, which is 10 full servings. There are 48 calories and and 4.8g of proteins in a single cup of soup- but I recommend 2 cups being the serving size.

*This recipe can be changed to fit your specific needs. I do not add meat to mine other than the bacon, but you can add chicken, stew meat, etc. You can also add different veggies. I sometimes add canned diced tomatoes but I didn't have any today. Just be mindful of the added calories and adjust the recipe to reflect that (especially if you're using a calorie counter that allows you to create customized meals).

I got 6 meals out of it (would have been the full 10 but I only had 6 available soup bowls); my husband and I had a bowl each, and so did my son. There was some left but no one wanted it so it got thrown out. It was delicious and filling. And the best part? SUPER low on calories! Most soups are; and I will be adding more to my blog as I make them! I make a knock-off Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano, so that might be my next endeavor!

Breakfast:

For this meal-prep, I used eggs, Conecuh sausage links, bacon (same as the one I used for the soup), and sausage patties.

Breakfast # 1: Scrambled eggs, thick sliced bacon, and Conecuh sausage

Ingredients

2 eggs, scrambled

1 tsp butter (I used Country Crock Churn Style)

1 tsp shredded cheese (I used shredded Colby and Monterey jack Great Value brand)

1 oz Conecuh sausage (you can use any type of sausage- I just prefer this brand)

1.5 slices of thick cut bacon (Great Value brand)

Course sea salt

Ground black pepper

Directions

Make 2 eggs, scrambled with butter and whatever seasonings of your choice

Add the cheese to the eggs when they're almost done cooking

Cook the bacon in the air fryer for 6 minutes (time varies depending on how crispy you like your bacon)

Cook the Conecuh in the air fryer for 7 minutes

Put the eggs in to a freezer-safe bowl

Cut the Conecuh and bacon into smaller pieces and put on top

Freeze

This recipe yields 1 full serving. It has 295 calories and 20.5 grams of protein.

Breakfast 2: Scrambled eggs, Conecuh sausage, and sausage patties

Ingredients

eggs, scrambled

1 tsp butter (I used Country Crock Churn Style)

1 tsp shredded cheese (I used shredded Colby and Monterey jack Great Value brand)

2 sausage patties (I used Tennessee Pride)

1 oz Conecuh sausage (any brand, this one is just my preference)

Course sea salt

Ground black pepper

Directions

Make 2 eggs, scrambled with butter and whatever seasonings of your choice

Add the cheese to the eggs when the eggs are almost done cooking

Cook the sausage patties in the air fryer for 8 minutes or until cooked through

Cook the Conecuh in the air fryer for 7 minutes

Put the eggs in to a freezer-safe bowl

Cut the Conecuh and sausage patties into smaller pieces and put on top

Freeze

This recipe yields 1 full serving. It has 481 calories and 29.6g of protein.

But enough of the recipes......

Like I stated previously, it's important to get the bulk of your calories during the day so you have the opportunity to burn them off. I've just been walking. I walk at work, I walk around the house- when I shop, that's when I get a lot of steps in.

Granted, walking doesn't burn a lot of calories. However, if you have your tracker on, throughout the entire day, you'll have burned at least 1 full meal off. It is also especially important to stay hydrated. Water no only helps with cutting down muscle pain (when you exercise), drinking a full 8 oz of water before each meal and after can help you feel fuller faster, and feel fuller longer.

I purchased a QuiFit 1 Gallon Water Bottle from Amazon. It arrived today and I plan to use it at work. I have the worst time drinking enough at work. The water from the sink tastes funny. We have a fountain that fills water bottles, but and don't always remember to bring a bottle of water that I can refill later. The simplest solution was to buy a water bottle and keep it at work.

I think that's all for today, guys. I have school work to do! I'll make a post later next week (unless something cool happens before then that I need to mention) that details what types of foods I eat for dinner since I do not meal prep those.

Have a great day, and thanks for reading!

XOXO, Lauren <3

[foxqueen-katarian]

Ya'll wanna know a stupid easy way to get kids to eat vegetables?

What you'll need:

Sauce/fry pan (you can use cast iron but I wouldn't recommend)

Olive Oil (or your preferred substitute)

Minced Garlic two/three cloves minced (<--double this if you like flavor)

Cherry Tomatoes 8-12 quartered

VEGETABLE YOUR CHILD WON'T EAT (I've tried this with green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus)

Shaved Parmesan cheese To taste.

So, set stove top to mid/high heat, place pan on burner add enough oil to cover entire bottom of pan. Add GARLIC cook 1-2 minutes, until aromatic. Add VEGETABLE YOUR CHILD WON'T EAT, cook 2-3 minutes (cook time will vary depending on what exactly you've got but most veggies cut into bite size pieces are good by the 3 min mark), add TOMATOES, cook an additional 3-4 minutes until tomatoes are soft. Remove from burner. Add PARMESAN CHEESE, this part can be tricky, add slowly and stir to melt, you can add as little or as much as you like but you may have to put it back on the heat to melt if you add a lot all at once.

Ta-DA! You have made the VEGETABLE YOUR CHILD WON'T EAT taste like pizza.

[aquakris]

Wait... Here in France, 5'8 is actually freaking tall for a girl! The average female size in France is 5'4! I'm 5'6 and I'm considered decently tall in my friend's group! Well my sisters and BFF's are all above 5'8 and they are considered VERY TALL! Where are you girls from and wtf do ya'll eat??? 🤣 I'm jealous of your genes!

omg you’re like the same height as my mom (she might be 5’5 and a half) but really? I’ll fuck around & visit France & people gonna look at me like ‘girl what in the fuck have you been eating over there where you at?😭’ I don’t know where I got my tallness from because both of my parents are short. I remember when I was a kid, my doctor told my mom I was supposed to be 6 feet tall & here I am.... 21 years old & 5’8 and a half since 8th/9th grade. I ate my veggies growing up😂😂😂😂

[theonlyjourneythatmatters]

So, let me preface this by saying that I did struggle figuring out food choices and how to get my calories in check. I struggled with a lot. But let me start from the beginning! This is going to be long- so buckle in. Also- get it out of your head that this is a "diet". This needs to be treated like a lifestyle change.

PHENTERMINE

I went to the Weight Loss Clinic in D'Iberville and got the Phentermine. It's not cheap by any stretch, but if you're like me and had zero energy or motivation, and you needed that jump start to get you started, it is worth it. The side effects for me have been mild. I barely slept the first week. They advise to take it early. I was taking it around 7:30-8:00 am. However, even though I barely slept, I did not feel exhausted and worn out the next morning- so there's that. It does make you sweat a lot, and if you're not eating enough, you will get shaky.

WATER WATER WATER

Water is a must, especially if you're taking the Phentermine. It can and WILL dehydrate you super quickly. Either buy a gallon of water to keep with you at all times, or invest in one of those large water bottles off of Amazon.

MEAL PREPPING

I did not wait to start eating better. The Dr at the clinic told me to focus on protein more so than anything else. So I did my research to find out what had the most protein in it. The obvious choices are meats- fish (very good for you, plus it has Omega-3 which is essential for heart health), chicken/turkey, and beef. I'm not a big chicken fan, but it is what it is.

Now, I love fruits and vegetables so paring the sides with the protein meals was not difficult for me.

Most vegetables are not very high in protein- they're also not high in calories. Raw, fresh vegetables anyway. A medium cucumber is about 4 calories. FOUR. WHOLE. CALORIES. For one single raw cucumber! Frozen or prepared vegetables are a completely different story. Fruit, on the other hand, can be high in calories- but the serving sizes are pretty decent.

Snacks were a little more tricky because my favorite thing to snack on is chips. And how many calories are in chips? A LOT. Too much for me to be comfortable giving up 1/3 of my caloric intake for the day, that's for sure. So, I opted for chicharrons and veggie straws.

You can absolutely tailor the meals to your liking- just be mindful of the calories and serving sizes.

Now, let's talk about actual meal prepping. Go ahead and get your eye rolling and sighs out of the way now. I felt the same way ya'll did. Meal prepping takes time. It takes planning. And most importantly, it takes dedication. This is a super important step that you do NOT want to skip if you're serious about losing weight.

For me, it helps when I'm at work because it prevents me from having to go to Taco Bell or somewhere to grab a quick lunch. And don't get me wrong- if you want Taco Bell for lunch, go get it. Do not deprive yourself of the things you want- but work it into your calories. Depriving yourself of the things you like is one of the major reasons "diets" fail. But I digress.

I went to Walmart and bought partitioned meal prep containers.

Just simple containers with clear lids. I'm sure you could find those on Amazon as well- but I didn't want to wait. I also went to dollar tree and got the round containers for my fruit.

BREAKFAST

My breakfast was something simple: cottage cheese and fruit. Some days I had the cottage cheese flips (that had fruit in jelly) and other day I just had a yogurt. Now, I got to Biloxi Nutrition and get one of their meal replacement shakes and that keeps me full all the way through lunch. My favorites are: Banana Nut Bread, Banana Pudding, and strawberry cheesecake. All of the shakes are 220-240 calories so they're great if you're trying to stay under- or if you've blown them on other meals, you could get one for lunch or dinner instead of breakfast. I also stopped going to Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks for a coffee in the morning. If I'm going to eat, I'll grab an iced protein coffee from Biloxi Nutrition. Very few calories and it tastes great.

LUNCH

I cooked all the food for 2 weeks' worth of lunch. I bought chicken and tilapia for my proteins, and black beans and squash/zucchini for my sides. The chicken and fish was cooked in the air fryer with no oil. I did season it with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and some Slap Ya Mama! seasoning. I think I may have also put lemon pepper on some of them. I tried to mix up the flavors so I didn't get bored eating them- different flavors meant it felt like a whole new meal.

I also bought some steak medallions and shrimp. I did buy some frozen, premade veggies: broccoli in cheese sauce, a brussels sprout and carrot medley, and some butternut squash spirals.

I bought minute maid brown rice and mixed it with the seasoned black beans. This gave me a little more of a full feeling (carbs make you feel full) and added texture to the beans. Brown rice is better for you than white, but if you prefer white, you do you, boo boo!

The sweet mini peppers are just halved with cream cheese and Everything Bagel Seasoning (I found it at Walmart). Then I just had cut up strawberries and whole blueberries for something sweet. I started eating those with breakfast and that one container lasts me almost all day.

DINNER

Depending on my calorie count for the rest of the day, my dinners vary. This is a spinach wrap stuffed with 2 pieces of turkey bacon, 1/4 of an avocado, spinach, thinly sliced onion and cucumber, Bitten creamy strawberry dressing, and medium heat banana pepper rings. The cucumbers I allowed to sit in red wine vinegar and a little bit of canola oil while I prepared the rest of my dinner. And the peppers are the same as what I do for lunches.

Sometimes I'll have a big salad with a lot of added stuff (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, lots of veggies, chicken, steak, or shrimp, olives, etc).

SNACKS

I usually eat trail mix, or the 100 calorie pack of nuts. I sometimes pair that with fruit, turkey bites, and/or a stick of colby jack cheese. I also enjoy chicharrons (BBQ is my favorite),

CALORIES

So I know I'm talking a lot about calories. So how do you figure out how many calories something has? Well, for starters, it's on the back of most packing along with the other nutrition information. Duh. But I would assume your question would be more along the lines of "How do I know how many calories are in my meal?" This has a simple answer. Get a calorie counter! There are plenty of free ones that you can use. I use MyNetDiary. Some of the options do want you to use the Premium paid service, but for the last 3 weeks, the free options have worked just fine for me. This app will ask you what your weight goal is, and will set a daily calorie intake for you based on your current weight, your goal weight, and when you want to reach that goal. It will adjust automatically based on your entries.

You can also link smart watches and smart scales to it.

On this app, you can track your calories by meal and snack. You can also track your weight loss, water intake, and goals. What I love about this app is it allows you to scan barcodes of the food you're eating and it automatically inputs the calories and nutritional information. AND it figures out the calories for you, based on how many servings you input. You can find the serving size on the package.

This doesn't work for everything, though. There are some things that you can't scan (restaurants, the drinks I get from Biloxi Nutrition). So with these, you can go online and search the calories or you can ask (Biloxi Nutrition has their values listed on their menu boards).

Portion control is imperative. Especially for calorie counting. It seems crazy that you can have only 3 mini pickles per serving- but pair it with a few almonds and a little bit of cheese and beef jerky and you have a low calorie snack and it's not going to feel like you're cheating yourself.

Log absolutely everything that you eat on the app. You may struggle for the first week but you WILL get it. It takes research and practice, and detailing your menu to the things that you enjoy.

GYM MEMBERSHIP

I got active. I joined the gym, and I actually go and work out. The best part of being active and doing workouts, is that it BURNS calories! What's so great about that? Well, let's say that the calorie app said you need 1500 calories a day to hit your goal weight in the time you allotted. You go to the gym and do a moderate workout on the treadmill or bike (or whatever). You burn 400 calories. Your 1500 limit just went up to 1900. Now, that doesn't mean you have to reach that limit- but you now have more wiggle room to eat something that may be a little higher in calories. The gym I go to has a separate app that you can download and scan the QR code on the machine- it automatically logs it so when I go to enter my exercise on the calorie counter, I can just pull the app up and see my total for the day rather than trying to remember it later on.

I don't get crazy with working out. I DO NOT go every day. The general rule of thumb is 30 minutes of moderate activity per day. Some weeks I go twice, some weeks three times. This also varies based on my schedule. However, when I go, I make sure to spend at least one full hour working out (So if I go twice, that's really 4 days; three times is 6 days, etc). So if you can't make it to the gym every day for 30 minutes, on the days you can go, double your time and do light activity during the days you're unable to go. 30 minutes a day seems like a waste to me- so I make it count when I do go.

One thing you have to remember: muscle weighs more than fat. So while you may see the scale rise in number (if you're focusing on muscle building), you will also see your clothing size shrinking. DO NOT let this discourage you! If you're working out and your clothes are loose but the scale says 5 lbs heavier, you're not failing- you're gaining muscle.

Also, learn to go to the gym by yourself, and be okay with the fact that you may not always have a companion to go with you. Sure, it's nice to have someone along with you- but you're never going to get anywhere in life if you're having to wait on someone to be with you in order to do what you want.

APPLE WATCH AND SMART SCALE

I also started wearing my apple watch every day. This keeps track of my heart rate and my step count (which you can also log on the app- I usually don't unless it's a workout day).

I purchased a smart scale that I can link to my phone. When I weigh myself, it gives me other measurements too. I purchased the RENPHO Body Fat Scale Smart BMI Scale Digital Bathroom Wireless Weight Scale, Body Composition Analyzer with Smartphone App sync with Bluetooth, 396 lbs - Black. It connects to my phone and keeps track of everything in the app. It shows me my BMI, body fat %, water, muscle mass, etc. It shows you how much weight you've lost or gained since your last weigh-in. It also shows how much your BMI has decreased and how much your body fat has decreased. You can set a goal on this app as well- but I haven't.

Another MAJOR thing about a scale- you're going to be tempted to weigh yourself every day to see if you've made progress. DO NOT DO THIS! This is a leading factor in why people fail with "diets". They weigh themselves daily- see no changes (or see the scale go up) and get discouraged. I'd suggest no more than once a week- twice if you must. I try to weigh myself every Saturday (since it was on a Saturday when I started this journey and my initial weight was taken the day before). If I want to see how my week is going, I MAY weigh myself on a Wednesday.

Here are some tips about weighing yourself:

Do not weigh yourself daily

Weigh yourself once a week

Weigh yourself in the morning- you weigh more in the afternoon/evening because you're carrying around everything you've had to eat and drink.

Weigh yourself naked. You'd be surprised how much clothes and shoes actually weigh.

Don't get discouraged by the number on the scale- again, if your clothes are fitting looser, then you're going in the right direction.

Also, please remember- you did not get to the weight you are over night and you're not going to lose it over night. If you're looking for a fast, low-hassle weight loss program, gastric bypass surgery may be more your speed.

WHAT I LEAVE YOU WITH...

If you made it to the bottom of this post, CONGRATULATIONS! I know it was a long read with a lot of information. You may still have questions and concerns- you may still be confused and unsure what your next step is. But the fact that you got to this means you're ready to start.

You've crossed the biggest hurdle, which is understanding that it's not going to always be easy to make the changes you need in order to see the weight loss you want. You're taking the first steps to a healthier, happier you.

If you have any questions or need any help, feel free to reach out to me. I will give advice and suggestions if I am able to help get you on the right path.