The thing that I notice the most is the perception of serving size. It is totally nuts! If the "average" person needs 2000 calories a day, a standard meal at a restaurant shouldn't be 1500 calories! For pete's sake, a veggie burger at Red Robin is 1200 calories, which ties with the Whiskey River BBQ burger for the highest cal - and that doesn't include fries. How many people assume the veggie burger is healthier? And the freaking onion rings are 1890 calories. I'm working on losing weight - and while I've needed to lose weight for 15 years, I dreaded buckling down because I knew it was going to be so much work and I don't have a lot of energy to spend figuring out food. I finally started last month, and was kind of amazed to find that my diet really doesn't need much tweaking. I don't actually need to cut anything our or massively change proportions, because I was already eating good food. What I really needed to do is cut my portion sizes. Right there, that has got me losing without having to make a big huge deal about it.

I would just get Kindle books. They only care about the billing address, so if you can use someone's card (with permission, LOL!) you can buy your digital books that way. You could even have someone order the books for you as a "gift" and just repay them with Paypal or whatever. It will at least save on shipping, and so many old books are so cheap as kindle books. Or go through Project Gutenberg for the public domain books. I will say that if you don't have a library, purchasing curricula will be more important - you can't just wing it and investigate different things as they come up. For curricula, there are a lot of companies that offer digital downloads. For first grade, you could use: Mr. Q life science (free, digital) Math Mammoth ($37.50, digital) Reading Lessons through Literature ($25, digital) RLTL workbook ($20, digital) Evan-Moor workbooks for spelling, writing, geography, etc. (cheap, digital) Story of the World ($50 for a bundle) You could do quite well for $150.

I am eating very little bread, but I can eat overnight oats (oats soaked in almond milk at a 1:1 ratio) with a sliced banana. That keeps me satisfied for 3 hours or so. Other ideas: Fruit & yogurt parfait (maybe with a little Muesli or nuts sprinkled on top) green smoothie Breakfast burrito (I had this today- scrambled eggs with some black beans, cheese and salsa on a small tortilla) Beans & rice, topped with cheese & salsa Sliced banana with peanut butter (mmmm) Slice of ham & slice of cheese rolled up together

I use the app iTrackBites, which I think was only $2. I have it set to use the WW PointsPlus plan, but you can do a straight calorie-counting plan. It has a scanner, lets you create recipes, etc. It works very well for me. Now I want chili, lol.

For me, leftovers are the best part! All of the yumminess and none of the work! ;) I made my third HF meal tonight - whole wheat penne pasta with a lentil bolognese sauce, with feta and toasted pumpkin seeds on top. It came with arugula for a side salad, but I'm the only one who likes arugula/roquette. I dished up half a serving of pasta to each of us, and that was plenty. We will each have the other half for lunch tomorrow. I will definitely make the pasta again. Is it pretty common for them to have you make a ton of vinaigrette? We had a little 80 g bag of arugula to split four ways, and they had directions for mixing up 3T olive oil and 2T balsamic vinegar. I mixed up a half-batch, and then used maybe a third of it between the four salads. So right there, the nutrition info is going to be off. Our version of Hello Fresh has a meal plan called "Calorie-Focus." I don't see that on the American version. The "regular" recipes have 800-900 calories per serving, but the "Calorie-Focus" meals have 600-700. We are getting three of the Calorie-Focus meals tomorrow: Mashed Sweet Potatoes with "Old Cheese" (lol), Korean Beef and Vegetable Wraps, and Noodle Soup with Indonesian Curry. The next week I am using their recipe for Peruvian Sweet Potato Soup, and in my box I'm getting Spicy Risotto with bacon and leeks, a Japanese soup with mushrooms and chicken, and Fondant baked Couscous and Hake Fillet. My husband and I are enjoying trying out the new recipes - and the kids are kind of along for the ride.

I just scaled the ingredients in the recipe - if they send you enough for 2 people, I assumed you ate 1 pepper but 1/4 of the total stuffing. So I entered 1/4 of the amount of the stuffing ingredients: 1 bell pepper 2 oz ground beef 1/8 cup monterey jack cheese 1/8 cup quinoa 1/4 onion 1/2 cup scallions 1/2 cup chicken broth (I guessed on amount) 1/2 teaspoon olive oil It came to 340 calories 12.5 grams total fat 4.7 grams saturated fat 29.4 total carbs 5 g fiber 8.8 g sugars 28.5 g protein

We just started using Hello Fresh, and I have the same problem. I think the menu is different in Belgium, but they include SO MANY CARBS! In one recipe they figured each person eating 300 grams of potatoes, which is about 200-250 calories right there. Another one had each person eating 250 grams, but cooked with butter. I can't do that! I use this website to modify the recipes and figure out the new nutritional info. It's not exact, but it's better than nothing. https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 So if you figure you eat 1/4 of the amount of sauce, scale the sauce ingredients down. If you eat half the chicken, enter that in.

I dunno - but maybe they are hiring drivers. Like reverse uber? I have packages that were delivered to my PO on Wednesday but haven't been sorted yet. Humph.

I think it has to do with the ingredients - Tex-Mex often uses flour tortillas, while "real Mexican food" would use corn. And it may use cumin, while the real stuff wouldn't, and cheddar cheese instead of local cheese, hard taco shells instead of soft, etc. I'm sure there are plenty of Americans who think that Tex-Mex is the food served alllll over Mexico, not even realizing that there are huge variances by location. I think it is hilarious when I travel and see "American" food. Like when we went to Costa Rica, and my son orderered a "perro caliente" (hot dog) which was covered in mayo and salad. In our Belgian grocery store, I can buy a prepackaged "American" hot dog with a cakey bun and a slice of processed cheese. I can also buy "American" condiment sauce which I think is a mix of ketchup, mustard, mayo & pickles, but I'm not brave enough to try it. So I can see why people who have experience with food from Mexico comment on the difference and are amused when people think that Mexicans eat taco bowls. Still, there's no reason for people to be rude about it. They should assume when Americans talk about going out to get Mexican food, they mean Tex-Mex unless they say otherwise.

Artist studies (SCM), one a month Composer studies (Classics for Kids), one a month Poetry for Young People, one a month Classics on audiobook, one a month Math in Focus: Course 2B, then either 3A or algebra? We'll see how it goes. Holt Science & Technology: Earth Science Story of the World 3 & 4 with supplemental reading (homemade Bookshark) Moving Beyond the Page 10-12 Literature Grammaropolis Hot Fudge Monday French for Children (CAP) FluentU French

I hate driving too, and make my husband drive. He has been gone for a month, and I have been walking to the grocery store to avoid a hairy left turn. I totally understand, and I think you're so brave to tackle this! I fear getting lost, getting a flat tire or other car trouble, getting into an accident, or getting a ticket for breaking a rule. The whole thing is stressful to me. Having a "co-pilot" is the best way for me to get over my worries. When I do have to drive any big distance alone, I go mid-day so there is the least amount of traffic.

I am trying to think of what I regularly eat that has added sugar. I guess baguettes might have a little. Maybe the frozen spinach pizza, I get once in a while. I have cut out everything that is obviously sweet except for fruit.

We have a pretty good routine going. I recently started using Homeschool Planet, and that has helped our completion rate a LOT. School also seems to take less time - I guess having the checklist motivates my kids to stay on track. I have already written out schedules for artist & composer studies so that we get those done too! 4th grader: Math in Focus Math Minutes 180 Days of Writing Mr. Q Science Bookshark history Literature studies 10th grader: MUS World History using a textbook & Great Course lectures Biology w/ textbook Art History with book & Great Courses lectures Bible and Its Influence & Great Courses lectures Literature studies My attempts at French with my 4th grader are NOT getting done, so I ordered something new to try (CAP's French for Children). I am hoping it gets done. I am also totally slacking in art.

We actually live just off-base now and I am pressured to join our FRG. The people seems super nice, but I just am not interested in bake sales, cooking classes, fun runs, etc. I think they are required to have a group, and the great wives are making the best of it. I'm just a lame anti-social wife. My dh has said that at some point in his career I will have to suck it up. He starts his captain's career course this spring, but I can put it off a while longer.

I wish I had your metabolism!!

I use the old Points Plus program, where the only free foods are fruit & most veg. I am supposed to get 35 daily points and 49 weekly, but I only lose if I stick around 30 daily and no weekly. Or maybe I only lose if I skip bread. I just know when I tried eating 35+ per day, I gained. I think my metabolism is just low. I won't do Freestyle because I would eat way more calories if I didn't have to count their zero point proteins. I need to track those too. I use iTrackBitrs app. I'm down 8 lbs so far this month

Even cooked meat and cheese needs to be refrigerated overnight.

I used Ready Readers (2, I think - it had Miracles on Maple Hill, and I think Trumpet of the Swan) when my older son was in 5th. What I *didn't* like about it was that it saved all the work for the end of the book. After that I switched to lit guides for individual books that were broken down into daily lessons. We mostly used Moving Beyond the Page, but I used some Novel-Ties, Novel Units, and a Garlic Press guide. I actually like Novel-Ties the best for straight-forward literature study. Each book is broken into daily reading assignments - and there are comprehension questions, more open-ended discussion questions, vocabulary work, introduction to basic literary elements and figurative language, and lots of writing prompts. MBTP has fewer questions, more grammar, and a ton of projects that I consider crafts & busywork. I do like their writing instruction though - it's nicely scaffolded. I love doing literature units with my kids. We pretty much always have a book that we are using a guide with. It has really enriched our homeschooling - we read the book together a bit at a time, compare characters, map out the plot, learn new vocabulary, play around with language ... and it's a sweet shared experience cuddled on the couch. I know others say that they don't see the point, but I just wanted to chime in and say I can't imagine homeschooling without them. ETA: Reading Roadmaps is just the nitty-gritty plot details for you. It's not a literature guide at all. Look at the samples - it's hardly anything you wouldn't figure out by reading any synopsis of the book.

:scared: I have been using them exclusively for 15 years, and that has never happened to me! Never any messes at all, actually.

I keep single packets of Wet Ones in my purse. :).

I made oatmeal with a half-cup of oats, mashed a banana into it, and stirred in 2 Tbsp. PB2 powder. It's 5 points using the WW Points+ calculator. Other days I will have: 3/4 cup homemade yogurt with fruit a hard-boiled egg and a Babybel cheese a fried egg on a piece of wheat toast with Vegemite 1/2 cup of Kodiak Cakes pancake mix (makes 3 little pancakes) which I usually eat with a banana for sweetness instead of syrup It's nothing fancy, just filling and low-cal. I don't care for veggies in the morning.

Oh, thank you! Quick questions - my son turned 10 in December. Which year of primary school would he be in (according to the Belgian system)? 4th? Is the test offered in English?

I have a friend who realized that she and her husband had attended the same outdoor rock concert several years before they met each other. They looked at their photos from the event, and they were standing next to each other! That is bizarre.

Back in the day when I had caller ID on my landline, I saw I had missed a call. I called the number back, and it was my old Sunday School teacher! She had mis-dialed my number and hadn't meant to call me. We had a nice chat. :) My husband and I grew up in the same town but went to different high schools. We met in college. I wouldn't say it was really a coincidence, as we started hanging out because we carpooled to our hometown together. We knew several people in common and both went to the same swim park, movie theater, etc. We probably passed each other a bunch of times.

I only see two sample pages. Are there more somewhere? And what do the Division letters mean - are they like districts? (Nevermind - I see they are grade level groups)