Homemade Hamburger Buns

So I'm on this quest to make everything from home. I've tackled some big things I didn't know could be made from home...well, I only knew them from a box. When I was introduced to homemade tortillas from a friend I just loved them and knew I could find recipes for things that always seem to come in a package or box from the store. Brownies, cake, garlic bread, sandwich bread, etc are amazing from scratch!

I thought hamburger buns would hard to do.   

Well guess what??

 They are SO EASY.

Like, easier than regular bread. Really? 

YES!

 I literally googled the recipe and one popped up that seemed great. It had great reviews too.

I guess they were right. 

Easy as pie! Well, easier than pie actually :)

More great news. There's no HFCS attached or any yucky preservatives that could harm your health.

 They taste great too.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

2 tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 tbsp warm water (110-115 degrees)
1/3 cup oil (I used olive oil...coconut would be good too)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In large bowl dissolve yeast in water. Add oil and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Add the egg, salt, and enough flour to form a soft dough.
3. Knead on a floured surface until soft and elastic, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Divide into 12 balls (I did 10...12 seems more like sliders almost).
5. Place 3 inches apart on greased baking sheet.
6. Cover and let rise for 10 minutes (I might do 20 next time for a little fluffier but 10 was still great).
7. Uncover and bake at 425 degrees 8-12 minutes (12 minutes was perfect for me).

And that's it! Start to finish took about 30-40 minutes. Yes, amazing. Obviously it will take longer if I let them rise longer. I think it will make them bigger without making less buns and that'd be great cause that means less calories per bun. Anyways, the real test is the hubby. I made sloppy joe's and he gave great reviews!! They were also fantastic because normally the bun falls apart and makes a mess with sloppy joe's, but these stayed together which was nice.

***UPDATE: I now do 12 buns each time at least and let them rise for about 30 minutes. They turn out lighter and larger. They are even more perfect :)***

Nutrition Facts: (1 serving, 10 total) *If you make 12 buns then it's 200 calories each.
Calories: 248
Carbs: 38.4 grams
Protein: 5 grams
Fat: 8 grams

240 mg sodium
5 grams sugar

Cost: $0.55 (Jackpot!) You get the benefits of a quality bread but without paying a huge price. You cannot tell me it's crazy expensive to eat healthy...and this is another recipe to prove it!

(Recipe from Taste of Home)

Ball Workout

1/14/13

Do you have a stability ball and never use it? Did you know that using the ball works on your balance? Working on your balance is great for your body because it works harder. People who work on their balance throughout their whole life are less likely to fall and injure themselves. Why? Because we lose balance as we age so we have to work on it. Plus, it burns more calories to work on balance while doing an exercise! Gotta love multi-tasking with exercise...it's the best way to do it!

Well bring that sucker out and start using it! I love working out with one and you will too. It's not just for the abs, you can get a whole body workout with this thing! Yes it's possible, can I show you how? 

Start with your warm up. Do some jumping jacks, walk in place, walk up and down the stairs; just get your body moving! Do a few stretches after your warm and let's get started with your first exercise!

1. Lunge with your ball. 

Keep the ball out in front of you and bring it over your head if you'd like. Do 10 lunges each leg. Make sure you keep that knee over the ankle!

2. Push-ups on your ball.

You can start with the ball at your hips to make it easier. The farther you go towards your feet the more difficult. Do 15 reps.

3. Sumo squat with core rotation

Bring your legs far apart like this woman and keep the knees over the ankles. Squat and rotate the ball to one side keeping your abs tight. Come up and bring the ball back to the center. Squat again and bring the ball to the opposite side. Repeat. Do 10 reps (times) on each side.

4. Crunches

Keep the ball steady and your back on it. Bring your shoulders up and lift your chin to the ceiling. Keep the tummy TIGHT and don't let your stomach bulge. Make sure you do not feel any back pain either. This should all be on the abs. Do 20.

5. Bench Press

Pick up some weights. You could start with 8 or 10 pounds if you are not used to lifting weights but then increase from there. Do as pictured. This is a great exercise because you are working more than your chest. You are stabilizing the body and that will work the whole thing, plus you're strengthening the back and core with the ball at your head and shoulders. Do 10 reps (10th should be the most you can do if you want to build muscle).

6. Backlift

Do as pictured. Start with your upper body parallel with the ground and lift up, squeezing the back muscles. Lower down and repeat. Do 15-20 reps.

7. Pike

This one is challenging so don't get discouraged. But if you want to really rock your abs then do it and work your way up. If you need to start more at your waist or knees and go out as far as you can then that's great. Do 5-10 and increase as you improve.

8. Plank

It's not easy enough to do a plank on the ground! You need a ball under those legs. This is excellent work for the core. Suck in your tummy and breathe through this exercise. Hold the pose shown above for 30-60 seconds.

9. Side Crunch

Get on your side like pictured above with your hands behind your head. Crunch away from the ball and tighten your tummy. This is great work for your obliques. If too difficult then bend your leg on the bottom and put knee on the floor. Do 10 on each side.

10. Push-ups....again.

If you want to start on your knees then go for it. Putting your hands on the ball will really challenge your balance and strength for your upper body and core. Do 10 reps.

11. Ball Roll-Out

This is another excellent one for the abs. Do as pictured. Keep your abs tight. This will also work your upper body. Roll out and roll back to the starting position. Do 10-20 reps.

NOW REPEAT WORKOUT 1-2 MORE TIMES

Cool down and stretch after. 

Gotta love the ball :)

Postpartum- Week 12

1/13/13

Here's an update...I like this one better than the last :)

Weight: 133.4 (3 pound loss!)

Arm: 10 (no loss)

Chest: 35 1/4 (1/4 inch loss)

Waist: 32 1/2 (1 1/2 inch loss!)

Hips: 35 1/2 (1/4 inch loss)

Leg: 19 3/4 (1/4 inch loss)

Body Fat: 24% (1% loss)

So to add it up, that's 2 1/4 inches lost since 2 weeks ago! That's pretty good for this stage in the game. Plus I broke my 134 weight barrier and my body fat has reduced another percent in less than 2 months, which is good. That means I had about 37.5 pounds of fat on my body when I started in October (26%), and now I'm down to 32 pounds. Woot woot!

SKINNY JEAN Challenge Update. First pic from a few weeks ago...

NOW....I can button and zip them now! Couldn't a couple weeks ago. Here's pictures....

You can see that I still need to lose to fit nicely into them

Have a little bit to lose in the tummy...but I'm still excited because this is great progress!

So if you want results....LIFT YOUR HEAVY WEIGHTS. I really cannot stress that enough. You know how many women have listened to my advice and are seeing fantastic results with their weight and metabolism?? I can count a dozen right now. It works. It's a science...it's not my opinion...it is PROVEN. 

So here's a new challenge for me. With the Johnson women plus Jacobs sister, we are doing a weight loss challenge! We are all working on losing weight currently so it's been fun being able to all relate with each other. I've never personally participated in a weight loss challenge...for obvious reasons. But I have committed to getting down to 128 pounds by February 15th. That's a pound a week to lose. So hopefully I can do this because the reward is girl night out with chick flicks, no kids, sushi (for 2 of us) and HEALTHY yet delicious snacks...so we don't undue our progress! I can't wait to share my results and probably take pics of our fun night together. 

There ya go! I hope you are living each day with excitement and confidence towards taking baby steps of a healthy lifestyle with eating and exercise. YOU CAN DO IT. Look at it one meal at a time. One workout at a time. One day at a time. One hour at a time. God is on your side of wanting to help you make these choices (and so am I)!

Country White Sandwich Bread

1/7/13

Who doesn't like a good sandwich? Most people are particular on what kind of bread they have...I mean, it is a huge part of the sandwich! I like homemade wheat bread when I can get to my mother in law's house and make some with her fresh ground wheat, but I can't do that each week. Plus, my husband is a "classics" man, which means he is picky. I love him still and find ways around it. He likes classic white bread. So I deliver. That's what wives do. I have this amazing cookbook my mom got me when we got married and that's where this recipe comes from. Now I'm sharing it with you!

Country White Sandwich Bread

Ingredients:
2 packages (2 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110 or 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup oil
6 1/2 to 7 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached)

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast in water in large mixing bowl.
2. Add sugar, salt, eggs, oil, and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth (I used a bowl and spoon)
3. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Put in greased bowl and cover with towel. Let rise in a warm oven for 1 hour.
5. Take out and punch down dough.
6. Divide into 2 loaves. Roll out and roll the dough like you would a pinwheel. Pinch bottom edges together.
7. Put in bread pans and cover, let rise another hour in oven.
8. Bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes.
9. Remove immediately from pans and lightly brush with butter to make the outside soft.
10. Let cool and cut!

***I forgot to put oil in this batch of bread pictured, but it still turned out good!***

Put some honey cinnamon butter on it...wow. 

I made my hubby a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich....A-M-A-Z-I-N-G...cause I had a bite :)

Fantastic Homemade Pizza

1/4/12

Happy New Year! My first post of the year should hopefully help fulfill some of your new year resolutions....budget friendly, tasty, and waistline friendly. The homemade pizza I make all the time...I know you've been waiting for this recipe. I have experimented a lot and this one really is good. Let me share!

Dough Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour (regular all-purpose flour works just as well I've found) and more for kneading
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup water room temperature
2 1/4 tsp yeast

Sauce:

7.5 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp basil
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
----you can also "cheat" and just buy a jar of marina sauce. Aldi has a great organic marina.

8 oz block mozzarella cheese grated
1 ounce cheddar cheese if you prefer
(double ingredients but keep yeast the same to make 2 pizzas)

All ingredients except bread flour are from Aldi

My wonderful helper grating cheese

Now that looks and tastes delicious!

Directions:
1. pour 1/4 cup hot water with 2 1/4 tsp yeast. Let sit a couple minutes.
2. Add 3/4 cup room temp water with flour and olive oil.
3. Mix together and then knead on counter for about 5-7 minutes and use more flour so it doesn't stick.
4. Once soft and not sticky, put in greased bowl.
5. Let rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours with a towel overtop in oven or warm draft-free place.
6. Take out, punch down and put on pan.
7. Mix sauce ingredients in bowl. Spread over pizza.
8. Grate cheese and add on top. Add other toppings if you want.
9. Cook in preheated oven of 400 degrees for about 18-20 minutes.

I have success every time and everyone who eats it loves it. I like using a pan with holes because I think the crust cooks very nice.

CALORIES: 165 for 1 slice (if you slice it in 8 pieces which are large)
Pizza Hut cheese Pan pizza is 390 calories for same amount!!!!!!!

There you have it. If you are a pizza lover then stop ordering out so much and start making it at home!!

For bbq chicken pizza, add cut up chicken breast already cooked (grilled and seasoned is the best), red onion, and squirt bbq sauce on top. Brush the crust with some olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle garlic salt...beat any pizza place's specialty pizza!

Maybe I'll have to do a blog post on this deep dish I make for me and my husband....it's kind of ridiculously amazing. We are only slightly pizza lovers :)