Snooze and Lose!!!

This is to everyone who makes sleep their last priority. 

If you want to burn more calories during the day? Then hit the snooze button.


Seriously. Recent research shows how a sleep deficit does more than foster cappuccino cravings. A lack of slumber may also increase your risk for weight gain -- even if you're not overeating.

Sleepless and Sinking

In a study, middle-aged women who slept 5 hours or less per night gained more weight than the women getting 7 or more hours of shut-eye nightly. And the sleepless set was at much higher risk of gaining significant weight -- as much as 33 pounds -- during the 16-year study. Whoa! Women who slept 6 or fewer hours nightly also tended to gain a bit more weight than the 7-hour sleepers.

The truly big surprise of the study? The short sleepers weren't raiding the cookie jar. In fact, they took in about 50 fewer calories than their skinnier, longer-sleeping peers. All of which left the researchers to speculate that a lack of sleep may somehow depress metabolism, so people burn fewer calories around the clock. Missing out on deep, restorative REM sleep could also alter hormones in as yet undiscovered ways linked to higher body weights. Better hit the hay happy -- and sleep better -- with these steps:

Pull on some wooly socks. It helps your body release heat as a prelude to slumber. Real Age benefit:

Getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night can make your real age as much as 3 years younger.

Wow!!!! 3 years younger….thoes are some seriously great benefits just from the right amount of sleep.

You can get this and more Information from RealAge

Spring Soccer

It is good to be back on the field. The Cisco Kid had his first Soccer practice. They are learning new playing strategies, techniques and having lots of fun.

Keeping control of the ball.

Fit for a kid!!!!

The Cisco Kid knows that I post about all my family recipes and all the pictures that are involved in the step-by-step process. Keeping this in mind….. The Cisco Kid is in his experiment phase and he is starting to experiment with his desserts.  He came up with a different combination that is so cute.  After he described his new desert to me, he asked if my family recipes are a secret.  I told him that I post about them on my blog and everyone reads them so they are not a secret.  He then asks if his new dessert is a family recipe.  I tell him we can make it one.  He then tells me he wants it to be a family recipe and he wants it to be a secret.  I was confused on why he wanted it to be a secret.  My first thought was, it is an experiment and he wants to keep his experiment a secret.  I told him that I needed to take some pictures so we can remember it is our family recipe.  He let out a big sigh and then it hit me.  He didn’t care about it being a secret, he just didn’t want me taking so many pictures.

Here is my son’s new dessert recipe. With only three pictures, I might add.

To make 4 Nilla wafer Ice cream sandwiches.

8 Nilla wafers

Ice cream of your choice. He used Oreo cookie Ice cream.

Put a small spoon of Ice cream on a Nilla wafer and top the Ice cream with another Nilla wafer to make a Nilla Ice cream sandwich.

Pasta Salad with roasted red pepper, balsamic vinigerett dressing

My pasta salad is more like a meal than a side salad. I make my pasta salad with backed chicken, pepperoni and an assortment of vegetables.

Salad

1 box of tri color Rotini pasta

1 red bell pepper chopped in 1/2 inch chunks

1/2 onion chopped in 1/2 inch chunks

3 stalks of celery chopped in 1/2 inch chunks

1/2 cups carrots chopped on thin slices

15 cherry tomatoes cut in half

2 cups or 1-1/2 chicken breast, roasted and chopped in chunks

2 cups of pepperoni cut in chunks

1/2 cup of parsley chopped

Cook pasta al dente. Bake chicken sprinkled with Mrs Dash sundried tomatoes and basil. Once pasta and Chicken has cooled combine all the above ingredients and mix.  

Dressing

1/2 cup of Olive Oil

1/4 cup of Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 cup chopped parsley

2 cups of roasted red peppers

1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes pesto

2 tablespoons of Mrs Dash sundried tomatoes and basil

1/4 cup of fresh basil or basil pesto

3 cloves of garlic

In a food processer blend all ingredients except for the Olive Oil and balsamic vinaigrette. After everything is mixed, slowly add the balsamic vinaigrette while mixing. Once the balsamic vinaigrette is incorporated, do the same with the Olive Oil. Pour dressing on to the salad and mix well.  Salt to taste.

For more recipes go to Temp My Tummy Tuesday

Work Hard and Play Hard!!!

Yesterday we started out our day in the backyard cleaning out all the dead plants. We loaded and dumped about 30 small trailer loads of leaves in a wooded area on our property. We had a massive burn pile burning all day. Florida has these terrible plants called palmetto bushes and they are so hard to get rid of. Every year the chief attacks them a little bit at a time. The only way to get rid of them is by pulling out the very large root that is crazy strong. The chief got out his chain saw and started cutting them down. The crazy thing is we are not even half way done. Still lots of palm tree branches to trim and shrubs to cut back.

My Tough Guy!!!

Later that day we went outside, not to work but to let the Cisco Kid play. He was so helpful picking up leaves and dumping them in the woods.  We are ready to fall down and he is still going full speed jumping on his trampoline!!!!!

   Then some of our friends came over to play. These kids can really play hard. 

The Cisco Kid was four years old when we got him this swing set.  It is starting to get small for him.  We have decided that we are going to build The Cisco Kid a tree house in its place. He has wanted one for a couple of years.

After a hard day of work and play, I was not going to cook. The Chief went out for Chinese and of course, the Cisco Kid had to have Mc Donald’s.