Pineapple Pork Chops

My mother-in-law bought me the "Biggest Loser Family" Cookbook for Christmas last year. I would definitely recommend this cookbook. Lots of great recipes. Here's one of them.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil spray
4 (4 ounce) trimmed boneless pork loin chops
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
8 teaspoons of Ken's Steak House honey teriyaki marinade and sauce (I used "Masterpiece Marinade)
4 slices of canned pineapple in juice, drained

Directions:
Preheat the broiler. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with olive oil.

Lightly mist both sides of the chops with olive oil and season with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place the chops, not touching, on the prepared baking sheet and broil about 3" from the heat for about 2 minutes 9be sure to leave the oven door open a crack when broiling.) Turn the chops and brush or spread 2 teaspoons of the teriyaki marinade evenly over the top of each. Top with the pineapple slices. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the pineapple and glaze brown lightly and the pork is barely pink inside. Serve immediately.One 4 oz. pork chop=5 Weight Watchers points plus value.
Add 1/2 plate full of vegetables with this meal. I just served mine with green beans.

Makes 4 servings

Number of Servings: 4

Alisha's take on ANGER!

Anxiety can lead to depression. Depression can zap our zeal for life. If you are a mom dealing with anxiety or depression, you might also find that you are a mom who deals with a significant amount of anger. You may bottle up that anger, or allow it to explode. Either way, the anger that festers and then vents itself is destructive in any home. WAIT WAIT WAIT! You don't know me. I am justified in my anger!

"Of course I am anxious. I have three kids doing all they can to destroy my house from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed!"

"Of course I am depressed! I never get out of this dadgum house, and being a single mom sucks the life out of me!"

"Of course I am angry! My kids have been whining at me and fighting with each other all morning long!"

The Bible, over and over again, warns against giving into the lies that you are justified in your anxiety and anger. For me, as a Christian, this is where my guilt set in. I knew better. I knew I shouldn't be anxious, angry, and spurting out my hopelessness onto anyone who came within five feet of me. And, yet, there I was. ANGRY! We have to be careful with our toxic thought life, don't we? One poor thought, leads to another, and then to another. Each incorrect thought must be held captive, because if it isn't it won't be long before BAM! WATCH OUT! MOMMA'S GONNA BLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! (kids shrink down hiding behind cushions while mom lets lose on the the closest toys that will be sure to break when it hits the floor) :) hahahaha...Just kidding...kinda.

What does anger look like for you?
-Screaming
-Physical violence
-Rage
-Fury

Or maybe something less obvious like...
-Bitterness
-Grumpiness
-Frustration
-Self-pity
-Impatience
-Criticism
-Irritation
-Sarcasm
-Depression
-Cold Silence

What do you do if you are a mom who tends to rise in anger, and spew it out onto your children?
You may have read my post about praying out loud right in front of your children. The second part to that is to find, and commit to memory, some verses that will help you. It's great to think that we would just offer up a prayer and instantly our anger would be taken away. Sometimes we need something that more, though, that motivates us. God is not surprised by our humanity. He is fully aware that we would give way to our anger. That is why He gives us tools that are always at our fingertips, if we are willing to seek them out. There are something like a kajillion verses on anger and anxiety in the Bible, all of which, will tear right though any kind of justification you can muster up with for being the way you are. :) Check out some of these verses, for starters:

• Psalm 37:8, "Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil."
• Proverbs 12:16, "A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult."
• Proverbs 12:18, "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
• Proverbs 14:17, "A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated."
• Proverbs 15:1, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
• Proverbs 29:22, "An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins."
• Colossians 3:8, "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."
• Ephesians 4:26-27, "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."
• Ephesians 4:29-32, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

This is only a start. There are sooooooooo many other verses on this topic! Google it. Swagbuck it. :) Whatever. You'll see that God speaks directly to this issue over and over and over again.

This tells me two things:
1. You're not alone. MANY people deal with this issue of anger.
2. It matters to God. Your thought life matters to God. The God who has all resources available to you says that this topic matters to Him, and offers His resources to you. Tap into that. Pray.

How are you doing lately? Are you giving the devil a foothold by sinning in your anger? Are you grieving the Holy Spirit by putting your little ones down on a consist basis? With your words, are you building up, or tearing down, the house that God has entrusted to you?

I sit here convicted. I have done foolish things, I have given the devil a foothold by acting out of my anger, and I have grieved the Holy Spirit by belittling my children when I was angry. Forgive me, Lord, for the times I have kept my anxious thoughts unchecked and allowed them to lead me to anger. May your sweet grace cover the times I have spoken out of impatience and a quick-temper towards my family. Your mercies are new every morning, Lord. I want this day to honor you. I will stop myself when I begin to rise in anger today, and I will speak one of these verses over my situation. I will pray that verse right out loud, and give that situation over to you. I will devote this day to developing a new vocabulary of gentle answers that are pleasant and healing, rather than reckless and reactive.

Amen.

Love you mommas! If you are reading this, you have been prayed for today.

Pictures of my 3 children I talked about previously.

In a previous post I referred to "a line I put down in our driveway to keep the kids from going into the street". My kid's reactions demonstrated their response to authority over all. You can read about that experience here if you want to. I finally had a chance to upload the pictures from that day, and thought I would share them. Here they are.

Here's Preston, my first born. 5 years old. He always stopped himself before he got even remotely close to my line, and threatened anyone who attempted at disobeying my orders in regards to the line.
Here's Keely, middle child. 3 years old. She joyfully lifted her feet high in the air and let herself go as far as she could. She would have loved if the car would have "accidentally" taken her past that line.
Then, there's Kipton. The baby of the family. 1-1/2 years old. He played on the line for quite a while, while looking up at me occasionally to make sure he still had to stay on that side of the line.
Cute as a button.

If you are wondering where all the recipes have gone, we have good news. We'll be posting more soon. As for myself, I have a ton of great recipes to share along with the Weight Watchers Points Plus values tacked on to them. I even have the pictures taken already. I just need to get around to posting them is all. They'll be coming soon.

A note from Katie: Conflict and Growth

Alisha has been sharing her wisdom in great hopes of encouraging other mother's who may understand and benefit from her transparency. It is my understanding that she is going to continue to share her thoughts here on Meal Planning Mommies as well as good recipes that she prepares at home for her crew!

Over the past two years I have been on a journey of my own. The road has been incredibly exciting and I stand now in a season of overwhelming gratitude and peace. However, I believe that my eagerness to share my knowledge with people started becoming before a search for wisdom. Instead of asking for insight and understanding of what I had learned, I spoke too soon regarding whole foods. I do believe eating whole foods is incredibly important. I believe that there are physical, environmental, and spiritual ramifications. Out of a miserable conflict the Lord was able to shine some light on my heart and change my ways of thinking and speaking about the whole foods diet that I do so deeply believe is significant. In a nutshell, here it is~ almost every mother in the world desires to do what is best for her children. I believe eating a whole foods diet is best and I have made no qualms about stating that. But, what about the mother that can not afford it? What about the mom who does not have access to it? What about the mother who already feels pulled like a rubber band about to snap? What about the mother who does not have the time for food preparation? What about the mother who can't?

I do not every want to make that Momma feel as if she is any less of a mother because of my food ideas. What I do want to do is share, for the mother who desires more whole foods in the kitchen, how it can be affordable, accessible, possible, and doable. My little sister has seen the benefit that whole foods has had on my family. She told me last week that she wants to make the switch. But, she said~" I can not increase my grocery budget as we are already strapped. I already feel overwhelmed. My husband is not really on board because he likes the way we eat. I want to do this with all my heart, but it feels impossible for me."

What about that?
How does that Momma make the whole foods switch? Is it possible for her?

In speaking to my sister about whole foods I am going to do it with great patience, understanding, and love. This is exactly how I want to come across on Meal Planning Mommies. If there are readers who ARE interested in whole foods, I want to share with you in love, provide encouragement, practical steps, and create an atmosphere of support. Just like I hope to do for my own sister.

Because of this desire, I am going to post twice a week for the next few months to answer my own sisters' questions and to speak to anyone else out there who would like to take the necessary baby steps towards a whole foods diet. But, this time I am going to write with transparency and and praying for wisdom regarding each post!

And, let me wrap this up by saying that it is my great hope that in these messages there will be no guilt. Food was given to us by our Creator to nourish us, to sustain us, for tradition and celebration. It it not something that we should think about with guilt, rather it should further connect us to a loving and caring God who has and will provide for us. Remember that in all the ways you may feel inadequate now (as we all do at times!) God has gives us freely something that will cover those places we fall short. He has given us his Grace. And, that Grace will sustain us in ways even the most nourishing meal can never reach.


Katie