#Unprocessed October

Have I told you that we are in the Last 100 Days of the year? It’s totally my time of the year!  

My house is decorated for Halloween – and still safe from Zombies.

And it’s pumpkin time!  I love pumpkin time!

I have reevaluated my life, my balance and I have redefined my goals for the Last 100 Days, and if you like that kinda thing, you need to be following OrtsofSorts with me! You know how I love a good challenge, and well, I’m LOVING this one!

You know what else I’m doing? #Unprocessed October! Yes, you heard that right.  I am in a challenge to only eat unprocessed foods. During the month of October.  The best month of the year.  Halloween Candy.  Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

And I can’t eat any of it.

But hey, you should do this with me! If you want to join, there is a badge on the right side you can click through and sign the pledge! Come join, seriously, it’ll be fun!

I survived Day 1, as part of my Living in the Now, I’m taking that as a win; however, I did keep a food diary to share with you to help keep me on track.

#unprocessed

Day 1:

Breakfast: Coffee is unprocessed.  I should probably read the instructions for this, but I’m sure coffee is unprocessed.  I’m brewing a cup.

Coffee is NOT the same without my Pumpkin Spice Creamer.  Or my Peppermint Mocha Creamer.  Unsweeted almond milk is not the same.  I bet that is processed.  Probably should have read the ingredient list.

I may not survive until the end of the month.

I have four homemade Lara bars left.  All hope is not lost.

Why are there left over fried pickles still here? I told Mr. T they were here, and he knows the reps send the left overs home for him.  Why would today be the day he doesn’t eat them?!?  Technically I could make those at home… so that doesn’t count, right? Crap.  I’m sure it counts.

I want extra points for walking away.

There should be a point system for this.

I should read the instructions; there might be a point system.

Morning Snack:

Maybe I could live on smoothies.  Fruit, spinach, technically you can make yogurt at home – I have a friend that did it, and I know all of the ingredients – flax seed… it says “seed”, that counts.  Almond milk.  Man, I have got to read that ingredient list!!!

Read through the instructions.  There is not a point system.

Lunch:

This looks like a normal meal for me, I can do this.  Massive salad time.  Romaine, carrots, zucchini, almond slivers, capers.

Note to self:  Research how to make salad dressing.  Like now.

 

Afternoon snack:

I am seriously hungry.  Pear.  Grapes.  Homemade Lara bar.

I have to go run an errand.  I drive right by fast food row.

How processed can a Taco Bell burrito really be? It’s vegetarian.  There has to be points for that.

Maybe we need a sliding scale…

Dinner:

Maybe I should make my own points scale, I drove right past Taco Bell.  And I drove past every other restaurant along the way.

Hello smoothie, my old friend.

Hello left over fried pickles, how did you get in my tummy?

In the Kitchen with Kate: Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin goodness going in the mixer.

My kitchen is about to smell really nice!

Whaaaa? There’s more?

The word you’re looking for is “Foodgasm”

Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

For the muffins:

• Box Yellow Cake Mix
• Can of pure pumpkin (of if you are more talented than me, make your own!)
• I added Cinnamon, All Spice and ground Nutmeg, pumpkin spice would be good, too.
• Add to muffin pan, bake approx 18 min at 350 dg.

For the frosting:

• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1 block of cream cheese softened
• dash of vanilla
• I added a big sprinkle of cinnamon
• Powdered sugar, about 3-4 cups
• Mix well, and frost muffins when cool

Personally, these muffins don’t need the frosting, but boy oh boy, were they good!

Wordless Wednesday 8-27-14

And that would be my first (of many) Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season! And this would be my favorite son, Mr. T, in his cheer uniform, on the first day of school.

Carving a Faux Pumpkin

I love Halloween!  I know, you are all surprised to hear that, but it is true!

Today I want to share this totally awesome tip I have for carving fake pumpkins – it will change your life.

I love carving pumpkins!  Every time I see a Pumpkin Masters book, especially when on sale, I grab it! They have awesome templates that range from super easy to the insane I would never attempt to do on my own!

We used to get real pumpkins and carve them, and sometimes I still do; however, I’m in love with the fake pumpkins!  I can carve them and then bring them out year after year.  I like to pick them up once they go on sale but I have been known to pay full price (well, okay, I always have a coupon!).  I did pick one up this year with my 40% off coupon but while I was shopping I found the most amazing gadget!

It’s called a Styro Cutter.  This little gadget is a thin wand that heats up. It is meant to be used on Styrofoam – wreaths, decorations, etc. but I have discovered that it works well on fake pumpkins, too!  This is awesome!  So, you tape your pattern onto the pumpkin, use the little tool that comes with the Pumpkin Masters kits to poke the tiny holes to create the outline and then you plug in the styro cutter.  Within minutes you will be engrossed in creating masterpieces!  Once the knife is hot you slide it into the pumpkin and then slowly work your way around doing a grown up version of connect the dots.

There are several reasons why I love this, first off – this little wand replaces all of the serrated blades that have the tiniest handles in the world!  Don’t get me wrong, those blades are awesome and do work, but I love not having to switch between the different tools.

Secondly, the mess is minimal!  Before, there would be tons of orange shavings all over the place – but now, the orange foam shavings are minimal, I collect them in my hand and toss!  If you know me, then you know that I don’t like messy, so the fact that this minimized the mess makes it worth it.

Lastly, this cuts the carving time in half.  Since I don’t have to switch serrated blades and don’t have to stop to give my hand a rest, the time it took to make my pumpkin went by in a flash!  Mr. T had fun helping, too, which makes it even more fun for me!

This year the pumpkin we carved was double sided.  The front is a witch with a bubbling cauldron and when lit, it casts the outline of a couple of ghosts on the wall dancing behind the witch.  It is super awesome!!!

Front

Back – and these ghosts dance on the wall behind the witch!

Not a good picture, but the one on the right we did last year… by hand… with the small serrated blades. Trust me, the hot knife makes carving so much easier! (The one on the left was pre-purchased like that, I can’t take credit!)

Along these lines – Penney at My Journey to Live an Authentic Life sent me this pin the other day… Do you remember how much I love baby showers?

The Downfall of Halloween Candy in Texas

I know I have inundated you with Halloween lately; however, I’ve noticed something that I must share.

First off, chocolate is chocolate and I’m not complaining; but I gotta tell you this!

Secondly, most of you know that I live in Texas. Texas is hot, that’s no secret.

Now, let’s add up these two facts. Halloween candy/chocolate is sitting on our store shelves which means it was shipped in weeks ago. (Why is it that when goods are transported on a ship it is called cargo and when it goes via a truck it is called a shipment?) Anyway… the chocolate was shipped to us, in massive box trucks, that aren’t air conditioned.

So, when the rest of you open a Reese’s peanut butter pumpkin, it looks like a pumpkin. When you open a Hershey’s chocolate tombstone, it has detail, it has writing that you can make out.

Here is what I get when I open a chocolate: