Welcome to Yum to the Tum

Welcome to my new blog, Yum to the Tum!

My family means everything to me and this blog is the offspring of what we are doing to become a healthier, happier family. My husband, David, and I have been married for almost 9 years. He struggled with his weight off and on his entire life. He was overweight when we got married and it got worse the first couple years of our marriage. About 5 years ago, we joined Weight Watchers. He desperately needed it, and I joined to learn the program so I could help him at home. Through the Weight Watchers program he dropped about 140 pounds! Since we went off the program strictly, his weight has flucuated some, but never back to what it was before. In the meantime, we had our beautiful daughter, Tessa, who is now almost 4. I was a teacher for 5 years, but am now a stay at home mom and I also co-run an Etsy shop with my sister. I homeschool my daughter, only preschool for now, but plan to continue with it. 

Over the last couple of years, we've had some hard and emotional times and have definitely put some weight on. At the beginning of this year we decided we were joining Weight Watchers again and we were going to meet our goals! We are one month in and I am already down 11 pounds, more than halfway to my goal, and my rockstar husband is down  19 pounds! We love the changes we have made and how much better we feel! I also totally love the change I've seen in my daughter as I see her eat piles of broccoli at dinner and healthy alternatives to the previous junk snacks that I let her have.

I have been finding really yummy recipes from all different websites and cookbooks and even creating my own and have been sharing them with my friends on Facebook, many of whom encouraged me to start a blog. This blog is going to include recipes, ones that I have found other places that work, ones I have tweaked, and ones that I make myself. But it's not just about recipes, I'm also going to be sharing some tips and snacks that help me get through the day and NOT be starving! My intention is also to break down many of these recipes by cost of ingredients and where I find the best deals on the best items. I'm a stay at home mom now, and we grocery shop on a budget, so I'm always trying to make my dollar stretch farther and use my ingredients in the least wasteful way. Additionally, I'm hoping to include some daily/weekly meal plans or just share with you where I used my points in any given day to give you some ideas of how you can cut calories and still feel satisfied.

Please! Follow Yum to the Tum and feel free to post any questions or comments about recipes or ideas that you may have and I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible. I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel here, just trying to make good, healthy and budget-friendly recipes and eating tips easily accessible to anyone wanting to drop those unwanted pounds that seem to creep up on us.

*I want to say thanks to my sister, Alissa, who helped me come up with the name for this blog...Yum to the Tum! And thanks to my nephew, Jack, it's him who you will hear exclaim "Yum to the tum!" whenever he eats something really tasty!

**I am in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, just a fan of the program as I know it works for my family. Always consult with a doctor before beginning any weight loss program. I am not a medical or culinary professional, just an amatuer wanna-be chef who loves to cook and knows how to follow Weight Watchers guidelines.**