Healthy Recipe Fail - Quinoa Pumpkin Pancakes

I'm trying to cook healthier, whole foods meals for my daughter (and self). I saw a recipe for quinoa pumpkin pancakes on Facebook and decided to try it this morning, since I had both main ingredients in the pantry.

The recipe called for 2 cups of quinoa to be ground into a flour. Apparently, I do not have the right gadget to do this. I tried in both my Ninja shark mini food processor (which I LOVE) and big blender. Some of it ground, but there was lots that didn't. I went ahead with the recipe.

The crunchy texture wasn't the problem. The taste was. awful They just didn't taste good. Even with butter and real maple syrup added.

My daughter said, "Wow! This tastes like something to make people eat for punishment!"

  Rave review, eh?

I agreed with her, though. They were gross.

We've come across lots of yummy healthy recipes, but this one was an epic fail.

What to do with pumpkins????

My daughter is sick so my days have been devoted to trips to the urgent care, doctor appointments, waiting at the pharmacy and lots of comforting. I haven't been able to get back on the exercise band wagon yet and have fallen back on quick and convenient processed and restaurant foods. There has also been lots of chocolate because I'm an emotional eater with a sick and grumpy kiddo who has been keeping me up at night with her coughing. We're hanging in the best we can, though.

I found a pumpkin patch last night. Pie pumpkins are only a buck each! I only bought one to start since I've never cooked a pumpkin before. Well, actually, we bought two pie pumpkins and two smaller ones, but we decorated them! The one without glitter is the going to go in the oven soon.

What are your favorite pumpkin recipes?

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New month = fresh start

Well, I started October actually down 2 pounds on the scale, which I'm sure is just normal fluctuation because I'm still eating my emotions and not exercising much.  New month means the perfect chance for a fresh start, though, right?  I'm going to make October a healthy month.

I have been making better choices when my daughter is around and serving healthier dinners, like this one, though:

I'm off to a good start today.  I had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast and a healthy lunch planned.  I'll get in a workout later.  Now it's time for some coffee to help me power through this day, though!  My sweet girl has chronic insomnia and kept me up last night.  ***yawn***

Here's One Way to Cut Portion Sizes...

My daughter is really into helping me cook lately.   She loves making miniature food.  Last night she made  plates of bite size burgers and mac & cheese.  She used the cap from a soda bottle to make the itty bitty buns.  Adorable, right?

(Burgers were 96% lean, on light bread.  Mac & cheese was made with 2% milk and reduced fat cheddar.)

Here It Is...

So I'm putting it all out there for the world to see.

This morning I weighed in at 293 pounds - okay 292.8 to be specific. 

And I want it noted that this was AFTER breakfast and coffee.  I was also wearing clothes.  I usually weigh in the nude first thing in the morning - after doing my bathroom business, of course!

Notice my chipped toenail polish?  That's from a fall I took at the BlogHer conference in NYC nearly two months ago and never touched up.  I work from home as a struggling freelance writer and have really let myself go.  Most days I take my daughter to school in my pajamas and forget to brush my teeth.

I've gained twenty pounds since I quit my job outside of the home a year ago.  I'd slowly worked my down to 270 from a high of 361.  Writing for a living is so much more difficult and stressful than I expected it to be.  It's been a rough year for my family in general and I'm an emotional eater.  Lots of sedentary time alone at home is not good for someone with lifelong emotional eating issues - and that photo of the scale proves it! 

I've been overweight since I was a preschooler.  I weighed over 100 pounds when I was in first grade.  I distinctively remember weighing more than the Emperor penguin my class was studying that year.

Two and a half years ago my husband and I adopted a nine-year-old girl from the foster care system.  Our daughter is amazing.  She is absolutely amazing and lights up my life.  She makes my heart so full that I'm constantly thinking there isn't room to love her anymore, but it keeps on filling up anyways.   And my husband is awesome, too.  I'm a lucky wife and mom! 

I want to be healthy and around for them for a long time.  I also want to set a good example for my daughter about living a health lifestyle. I've been talking the talk, but not walking the walk.  (Is that how that saying goes?)

The situation is complicated because she has developed some pretty big body image issues.  Her body is growing and changing, plus she gained a good chunk of weight thanks to anxiety medication.  She started middle school this year and will be twelve in two months.  She thinks she's huge and ugly.  She cries and tells me nearly every day that she hates herself.  I tell her that her body is strong, amazing and beautiful, but I'm her mom.  It doesn't mean much coming from me.  Seeing her so unhappy is heartbreaking.

So I need to lose weight for my healthy, while letting her see that I think I'm hot and amazing at the size I'm at now!  It's going to be quite the balancing act, but I'm up for the challenge. 

Want to join me?