Mexican Pizza and an Update

One thing that is key when you're trying to reduce fat and calories in your diet is to really amp up the flavors you use in each meal.  It helps you feel satisfied, especially if you're like me and are coming from a life of living to eat!  If I eat something that doesn't fill my emotional well in addition to the physical one, it leaves me wanting more.  I saw a recipe on Pinterest that was by Trader Joe's grocery store and it was Mexican Pizza.  Let me tell you, in the old days, Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza was the thing I ordered every time but at 540 calories and 31 grams of fat, it just isn't something I can afford to eat anymore.  The Trader Joe's recipe isn't exactly light either.  When I calculated it using My Fitness Pal's recipe section, it ended up being worse than Taco Bell's version!!  It was around 1200 calories and 31 grams of fat PER SERVING!!!  I didn't even look at the sodium but it must have been off the charts.  SO I had to get creative and make this work for me.

My version is still higher in fat than I would normally eat at one sitting but, I thought of a couple of other ways to cut that, too.  Here is my version as I ate it yesterday:

This makes one serving.

2oz of 93% lean ground beef
1-2 Tbs of diced onion
1/2 tsp of garlic powder (I didn't have any garlic)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
pinch of kosher salt
pepper to your taste
1/4 cup of fat free refried beans (heated and thinned with a bit of water, if necessary)
1 6-inch flour tortilla
2-3 TBS of Jacks Garden Fresh Mild Salsa (use your fave)
1/4 cup Kraft Naturals Colby Jack Cheddar Blend, made with 2% milk
a little bit of chopped green onion
1 small tomato chopped
5 small black olives, chopped


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1.  Heat a small skillet over medium high heat and add meat and onions.  Cook through.  Drain fat then add back to skillet and cook for  5 more mins with all the spices.  Remove from heat.
2.  Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place your tortilla on it.
3.  Spread the 1/4 cup of refried beans on the tortilla.  I had thinned my beans out a little beforehand to get a spreadable consistency.
4.  Then put the meat and onion mixture on top of the beans and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.
5.  Remove from oven and add the salsa, cheese, green onion, tomato, and olives.
6.  Put back into the oven for about 5-10 more minutes.
7.  Using a pizza cutter, slice it into 4 triangles.

My version is roughly 365 calories and 14 grams of fat.  I had to change the amount of meat and cheese as well as use a smaller tortilla to accomplish that but, please believe me when I tell you, this was very, very filling.  You could reduce the fat further by using fat-free cheese and, you could cook the meat and onions separately, then rinse the meat once it's browned.  Rinsing chopped meat removes 50% of the fat!  If you took those steps with the FF cheese and the meat, you would save 7 grams of fat.  Not too shabby!

Now for a quick update on my weight.  I have lost 21lbs now and am feeling really good about that.  I'm wearing smaller clothes and feeling like I have more energy than I can remember having in a long time.  I try to stick to 1200 calories a day and for the most part I do pretty well.  There are days that are more of a struggle than others but overall I feel like things are still on track!

Don't forget to follow me on My Fitness Pal and on Facebook if you don't already!!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the Mexican pizza recipe!!

Tostadas Done Light!!

Truth be told, I don't have the most exotic palate.  Thinking back throughout my life, I might even say that I tend to be a little picky.  However, in my quest to lose weight one thing has come clear and that is flavor is king.  I can eat something that is lower in calories and lower in fat as long as the flavor is good and that is where my idea for a light version of tostadas came in today.

This lunch was SO delicious and easy that I will absolutely eat it again!  The cast of characters for this event were:

Mission Yellow Corn Tortillas (extra thin)
1.5 oz rotisserie chicken, chopped
1 Tbs 2% Kraft Colby Jack Cheese
6 black olives, chopped in half
1 romain lettuce leaf, chopped
1/4 cup reduced sodium black beans
1 Tbs Bolthouse farms Salsa Ranch Dressing
1/2 roma tomato, chopped
1 quarter slice of lime

The other day at the store, rotisserie chickens were on sale so I bought one thinking I could use it for many different meals.  These things are so versatile and, if you leave off the skin, they are a great source of low-fat protein.  Well today seemed like a great time to try something a little more exotic than I usually do so I took 1.5 oz of breast meat and chopped it into bite-size pieces.  In the meantime, in a small skillet, I had sprayed olive oil Pam and set it to medium heat.  Once it was warm enough, in went the corn tortilla.  Now, the end result for me was a bit chewy when I was hoping for something crunchy.  If you wish to leave a note in the comments telling me what to do to get a crunchy tortilla next time, that would be great!

As the tortilla was warming in the pan, I proceeded to chop the lettuce, tomato, and black olives.  Once the tortilla seemed ready, I placed it on my plate and began layering the various toppings on there.  The bottom layer was 1 Tbs of the cheese, then came the chopped lettuce, then the chicken.  Next came the black beans, black olives, and tomatoes.  I topped it off with 1 Tbs of the Salsa Ranch dressing and a squeeze of fresh lime juice from the quartered fruit.  OH.  MY.  WORD!!!  It was so bright and fresh tasting, I loved it!!!

And the best part of this is, it was only 340 calories and 9 grams of fat.  The only thing I can think of that would have made this over the top flavor-wise would be if I had fresh cilantro on hand to chop and layer on as well.  Cilantro is one of my favorite flavors!!  Combine that with the brightness of lime and it is heavenly.

Just because I'm trying to lose weight doesn't mean I have to eat bland foods that are the texture of cardboard.  This meal (which I ended by eating an apple) was totally satisfying for my taste buds which goes a long way to making me feel satiated emotionally.  That in and of itself felt like a huge accomplishment.  Later this week, I'm going to make a lighter version of one of my favorite recipes on here, Sausage, Beans, and Rice.  So be sure to check back for that, you will NOT want to miss it!!

Don't Give Up!

I wanted to write you today and share something really personal.  If you've ever battled your weight, some of this will probably feel incredibly familiar to you.  Over the last several years I really let myself get into a bad place physically and emotionally.  I didn't value myself enough to make changes that would really manifest into something meaningful for my physical well-being.  Every day was a constant barrage of negative thoughts, beating myself up for being so weak, and then trying to comfort that hurt with food.  it's a stupid cycle to get into but, that is where I found myself.  Many times I would utter the words, "I'm ok with how I look", but that was a lie spoken by my inner voice to keep me from succeeding.

Now that I am back on track, (down 15lbs thank you very much!) I want to speak to you about where you are in your life's journey.  Don't let that inner voice drag you down.  Tell it to shut the hell up.  You are worth getting yourself healthy.  You are worth being around for your family and friends.  You. Are. Worth. It.  Negative thoughts result in negative results.  Love yourself enough to make even just some small changes today.  Maybe you get out and walk for 15 minutes.  Don't walk at a breakneck speed, just get out there and move.  Maybe, instead of soda with lunch, you have water with lemon.  Take some small steps just for you.  Add a new small step each day or each week and you will be surprised at how they add up into big changes for you.

I could sit and be extremely pissed at myself all day for essentially wasting years of my life by being obese but that would not be productive.  Instead, I thank me for not giving up on myself, for saying out loud, "I'm worth it!!" and meaning it.  Do something kind for yourself today and above all, do not give up.  If I can do this, you can do this and that is a fact.  I am someone who detested exercise and would revolt at the thought of eating the way I am right now.

I'm not saying you need to do what I'm doing as far as eating or exercising goes.  What I'm doing works for me.  But love yourself enough to explore what will work for you.  There is something out there for everyone and every lifestyle you just have to find the changes you can live with and start there.  I'm in your corner, ready to cheer you on!!  Don't give up.  Set small goals and shout from the rooftops when you achieve them.  Just don't give up!!!

Bruschetta for Breakfast!

Eggs are a delicious way to start the day but sometimes I get a little bored with just poaching them or scrambling them.  This weekm I tried something a bit different and really liked it!!  My grocery store, Harris Teeter, sells this amazingly delicious ready-made bruschetta topping in the deli area and I always have some on hand.  I use it to jazz up scrambled eggs so I thought, why not try it with egg on toast?  It's a super-simple, quick recipe that will keep you satiated until the next time you eat.

Here is my "recipe" for Bruschetta for Breakfast:

1 egg white (my nutritionist said the whole egg would have been fine, too)
2 slices of artisan whole wheat bread (thin, no more than 160 calories for 2 slices)
cooking spray
2 Tbs Tuscan Bruschetta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray the bread and place in the oven for about 5 mins or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, lightly spray a small skillet with cooking spray and turn the heat to medium.  When the pan is warm, place the egg white in and season with cracked black pepper, if you like.  You want the white to come together but don't cook it too much, you don't want it to get dried out.  You can cut the egg white in half and share it between the two slices of bread and then top each with one Tbs of the Tuscan Bruschetta.  It is DELICIOUS and lite and filling all at the same time.  Here is what mine looked like, though I folded the egg white and only had it on one piece of the toast.

Doesn't that look SO GOOD???

Another great way to use this bruschetta is on a salad.  In fact, it is a great replacement for salad dressing.  One day last week, I had some leftover London Broil that we had cooked on the grill so I measured out 3 oz of the beef and placed it on 1/2 a heart of romaine.  Then, I added a tablespoon of capers and 3 tablespoons of the Tuscan Bruschetta.  SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

After I ate it, I had to admit that really, 3oz of the London Broil was more than I needed.  1.5-2 oz would have been more than enough.  But it was really good!!

Are you curious at all about my latest weight loss results?  Well, I had my session with Bernadette this week and was down another 2 lbs, bringing me down to 196!!  This is so exciting!  When I went to see her a month ago, my weight was up to 205 and I was feeling out of control and totally desperate.  It has been such a help to meet with her weekly.

I have high hopes for where I will be at the end of the year!!  :)

Mango Salsa - A fabulous summertime dish

One of the best things about the summer season is how much fresh fruit is available.  Watermelon is something I look forward to every year!  Another favorite of mine is mango.  Now, mango is one of those fruits like pomegranate. It's kind of tricky to peel and eat but once you figure out the key to unlock the goodness you'll be so glad for it!!

With my new way of eating, I'm trying to add more color to my plate.  That way it's easy to see that I'm getting more nutritious fuel for my body.  So today, I whipped up some Mango Salsa to go along with the grilled chicken and corn on the cob I planned to eat for lunch.  It's so yummy, sweet, a little tangy, and very bright.  Like eating sunshine!!  Here is the recipe:

Mango Salsa
Serves 2

1 ripe mango
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
2-3 Tbs red onion, finely chopped
1 healthy pinch of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime

To see the best way to peel/slice a mango, please watch this video on You Tube.  Mangos can be quite juicy and, if not done properly, your hand could slip on the knife and that would not be good!  So watch this video first:



Once you have your mango all ready to go, combine the red pepper, red onion, and cilantro with the mango.  Then, take your 1/2 a lime and squeeze it over the top.  Set it all aside and let the flavors come together for a little while.  I left mine out on the counter for 30-45 minutes or you can put it in the fridge until you're ready to eat it.  Let me tell you, once you have this light, refreshing side dish you will want to move somewhere tropical so you may eat it all the time!  I absolutely love it!!  One serving is only 98 calories and is chock full of good things so I'm only happy to eat my share.  You could also add black beans to this for a complete meal.

Here is what it looked like on my plate today:

Yummilicious!!!

In other news this week, I had another visit with my nutritionist and my weight was down 2 more lbs.  WOOT!  It's nice to see the scale moving in the opposite direction for a change!!  Bernadette is so helpful and supportive.  It's so important to have someone on your side, who isn't going to judge you or recriminate you, only help and offer advice when it's needed.  Losing weight is not easy and the path the get to the final destination is incredibly long.  This is why having Bernadette guide me is so vital to my success.  I haven't been able to do this on my own in a long time but she is going to help me get to the point where I can.

I'm still working out every day, walking on the treadmill and lifting free weights, too.  To keep things from getting to stale I ordered some exercise DVD's from a company called The FIRM.  I had some years ago and they were great, high-energy, and HARD workouts!  Now I'll be able to mix up my routines a bit and keep my body guessing about what's coming next.  Hopefully that will help keep plateaus at bay.

Well, that's all I've got for you today.  This week I've been looking through some new healthier cookbooks and am looking forward to sharing some meals I make soon.  Until then, please take care and thanks for stopping by!!

A review and a pic of yours truly.

The other night we were at Target picking up a few things and I decided to peruse the frozen section to see if there were any new, interesting Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones offerings, specifically for breakfast.  Because our schedule is so hectic, it's nice to have something quick to prepare on hand for those times when I forget to defrost something or just plain don't want to cook.  Well, Smart Ones had some nicely portioned breakfasts and I decided upon the Waffles and Turkey Sausage.

You can see from the photo that the turkey sausage is not particularly photogenic, however, it was actually pretty good!  The package comes with two waffles, a small packet of syrup, and two turkey sausage links.  There was a fancy envelope which allowed you to microwave the waffles to the desired crispness but, mine weren't crispy.  :(  They still tasted fine but, if I did this again I'd just use the toaster. All in all, it was surprisingly good.  The syrup allotted was so much less than I'm used to using but it was exactly enough.  That's an interesting by-product of this journey I'm on; it's getting easier to see what a proper portion size looks like.

Today I decided to have my oldest take a pic of me so once I reach my goal, I have something to look back on as motivation to keep working hard.  So, here I am.  All 5'3", 201lbs of me:

Yep.  That's me!  I've got a long way to go but I know I'm going to make it.  This morning I worked out on the treadmill, walking for 30 minutes at about 3.7mph.  Let me tell you, listening to the Black Eyed Peas songs "Pump It" and "Don't Phunk With My Heart" will get you moving like nothing else!! I have a medley of songs by them Lady GaGa and Madonna on a playlist and it makes the treadmill time just fly right by!  After my walk, I worked out using free weights and did some crunches.  Can you tell I'm ready to get in shape??  :)

Finally, I wanted to share with you this delicious salad that was my lunch today.  It consisted of leftover grilled chicken, 1/2 a head of romaine lettuce, 1/4 of a red pepper, a tsp of raw sunflower seeds, a Tbs of capers, all topped with 1.5 Tbs of Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette.  It was so delicious!!!  There is something about eating salad during the summertime.  So light and crisp, I love it!

It's nice to feel so pepped up about something and not being submerged in self-loathing feelings.  Certainly makes for a much better day.  :)  I hope all is well in your world!!

Invigorated!!

Wow!  Can you hear me yelling that from where you are??  WOW!  Yesterday, I had my 2nd weekly meetup with my nutritionist, Bernadette, and was feeling pretty good about my progress through the week.  She had me get on the scale and I hopped on it like a dog jumps in the car to go for a ride; I was excited!  So, at my first appointment my weight was 205.  At this appointment.... 201!!!  Yep, I lost 4lbs in a week, only by reducing my calorie intake and making smarter food choices.  Oh my god, I was so incredibly elated to have a 4lb victory my first week!!

The beauty of this plan with Bernadette is, I can still enjoy the tastes of my favorite foods.  If I want a hot dog for breakfast, that's what I eat.  It's just a lite one.  For snacks, Bernadette originally suggested a small piece of Hershey's chocolate but, what I noticed was, when I put the chocolate in my mouth there is some kind of instantaneous response to it, a trigger, that makes me want to eat 20 more.  After discussing that with Bernadette, she ok'd my 2nd choice which is Zone bars.  I take a meal replacement bar and cut it in half for a snack.  These are great because I still get the taste of sweetness and chocolate that I'm looking for but without the emotional response triggered by the Hershey's chocolate.

Another thing that I'm finding really helpful is an app called My Fitness Pal.  It's free and you can download it to your phone or your iPad.  They also have a website if you prefer to go that route, too!  Oh and did I mention it is FREE?!  You just can't beat free.  They have an extensive database of foods and it's likely that if it's at your grocery store, it's on My Fitness Pal, too.  I'm trying to stay at around 1200 calories a day.  If you'd like to follow me at my fitness pal, you can add me as a friend there.  I'm listed as eviec1.

This change in eating has revived my interest in cooking, another great side effect!  There are several great sites out there offering a mix of inspiration as well as really awesome looking recipes which I plan to try out.  Check out www.skinnytaste.com, www.dashingdish.com, and www.canyoustayfordinner.com and I think you'll agree they have so much to choose from.  Last night, I made this pulled pork recipe from skinnytaste.com and it was really good!  Mine was a touch too salty but I think that is because I used a bottled sauce that had a mustard base.  In spite of that, it was really good and I'll be having leftovers for dinner tonight!!

So, this week I have added exercise to my daily routine.  Using my Spotify account I setup a playlist of songs to help me keep up a brisk pace on my treadmill.  It's so much more awesome to walk on the treadmill listening to music!!  For two days now I have walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5mph. Also, at 3 times during the walk, I pump up the speed for 1-2 mins to give my walk a little more oomph.  Man, my energy level is so high after working out!  It's great!!

So, it has taken me a long-ass time but this finally feels like the right fit for me.  I will keep you posted on my progress!!

Doing Much Better

It took some soul-searching but I think I have finally settled on something that is going to get me back on track. A few years ago, after the birth of my first child, my Gyn told me I needed to lose weight. She was concerned about my health. Funny thing is, I was 20lbs lighter then than I am now, but I digress. She recommended a nutritionist to me so off I went and ended up losing about 30-35lbs using her advice. We met weekly at first and then moved to every two weeks until I felt comfortable enough to keep up with everything myself. That worked out really well until I had baby #2. Now, after my second child was born, I really didn't hold on to much weight, maybe 7lbs, but I was feeling panicky and began looking for a quick fix. I signed up for Weight Watchers and actually did really well on that, getting down to about 140lbs. Can I just tell you how thrilled I'd be to weigh 140 right now? Lord. Well, it's hard to say what happened after that but, for whatever reason, even though I looked great, was working out, etc, I still wasn't happy with my weight and wanted to lose more. So began my journey into low carb dieting with Suzanne Somers and Dr. Atkins. Please, don't misunderstand me. These diets work and work well but they just weren't something I could live with forever. This resulted in my falling off the wagon and putting all that weight I had lost back on and then some.

 Last week, I decided to contact Bernadette. I felt like what I needed was that one-on-one interaction with someone who could work within the parameters of what I like to eat and what I don't like. Bernadette was great. She fit me in the day I called; she could tell I was feeling deperate. She helped me create a meal plan for the week that still allowed me to enjoy my favorite flavors while teaching me restraint and moderation. Tomorrow is my next appointment and I'm really looking forward to it. All week, I was able to eat healthfully, enjoy small tastes of chocolate, and lose weight. Not much but, a loss is a loss! I can't wait to go in tomorrow and get some good feedback. It felt so awesome to have stuck with it all week, even over the weekend when it's SO tempting to go to Panera for one of their breakfast souffles and a chai latte!! Also, my brother-in-law had a birthday party but I didn't overdo it. That felt like quite an accomplishment to not gorge on appetizers!! I did enjoy a small slice of pie for dessert but, again, didn't go overboard like I would have in the past.

Here is a picture of my lunch today.  It wasn't anything terribly exciting but it was light and tasty!  I grilled a bunch of chicken breasts that I had purchased this week, and while they were on the grill, I basted them with Bolthouse Farms Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.  They weren't drenched in it, just coated enough to give them a nice flavor paired with the smokiness of the grill.  To go along with that I just had some steamed broccoli that was lightly salted and that was that!

The nice thing about the chicken breasts that I purchased is that, I got them directly from the butcher counter instead of buying pre-packaged.  This allowed me to ask the butcher to select only small breasts for me.  It drives me crazy how big the pre-packaged chicken breasts are.  The small ones are a little more uniform in size and cook more evenly.  It saves me the step of pounding the breasts like I have to do when they are larger.

This afternoon I will be having a snack of a laughing cow creamy swiss cheese wedge and a small serving of cherries.  It's a nice little treat to tide me over until dinner time.

This finally feels like truly the right move for me. It has been a long time since I was able to stick with anything like this for longer than a couple of days so a week feels mighty impressive!! I've been searching pinterest for blogs that post low cal/low fat recipes and plan to start posting my meals here when I try them. There are so many talented food bloggers out there, creating these masterful renditions of things we love to eat but with less fat and calories than we need. I'm excited to begin showcasing them!! Thanks for sticking with me through all of this. I know it has been monotonous so I appreciate your continued support!!

Le Sigh

Honestly, my blog is becoming a lame repeat of "oh now I'm going to do this" and "oh that sucked, I can't do that". My last post was about how I was going to do Nutrisystem (which should be called Putri-system) to lose weight. Well, after eating grilled "chicken" and a couple of other meals, I was officially done. The food was seriously some of the grossest stuff I have ever eaten in my life and so here I am again. A failure at sticking with anything, wishing I had any will-power at all to make a plan and lose some weight. Right now, I just feel like a horrible person and a total failure and I'm hoping I can get a grip on a good attitude very soon.

Starting Something New - Nutrisystem

Losing weight has been a losing battle for me. I started this blog in 2007 and am in basically the same situation I was back then. Over the years I have read countless books and magazines on the topic of losing weight and in the end, just found myself confused about which path to take. Which one was right for me? I was just plain frustrated. Well, this week I decided to take thinking out of the equation altogether for a while. My brain needs a break from trying to figure out what to eat and I need to see some success at the same time. So what did I do you might be wondering. I signed up for Nutrisystem.

Janet Jackson wasn't the reason I did it. Nor were Terry Bradshaw or Marie Osmond. I signed up for Nutrisystem because it is afforable and gives my mind a break from the noise I was hearing with all my thoughts trying to battle out which diet was the right one for me. Will Nutrisystem work? I hope so. Today, all my food arrived and I will freely admit to being a teensy bit freaked out that everything is shelf stable. For whatever reason I was thinking that some of the things had to be frozen. At any rate, I'm starting tomorrow and hopefully will see great results this month!!

So my plan for now is to post pictures of my daily meals and list which ones I like and which ones I don't and why. I will also keep track of my stats. If you'd like to come by and cheer me on, I welcome your support!!

Braised Beef Short Ribs - It's What's for Dinner. :)

Beef short ribs. I have SUCH a weakness for beef short ribs! We went to Disneyworld a couple of years ago and ate at a pub in Downtown Disney. There I had the most tender, succulent, delicious short ribs I'd ever eaten and I've been on a mission ever since to re-create the yummy goodness I had that night. Well, my dinner tonight wasn't even close but it was good! LOL

Short ribs tend to go on sale a lot at our local Harris Teeter grocery store so I can get 4 ribs for around $3.50. The only bad thing that I've noticed about the ribs our store offers (and this could be typical of the cut) is that they are very fatty. So while they look substantial in the package, really, two packages is what would be needed to feed 2-3 people. Anyway, I found a recipe online which you may download here:

http://www.foodchannel.com/recipes/recipe/braised-beef-short-ribs/

It was a very simple and straight-forward recipe and the only thing I changed was the red wine. We have every other kind of alcohol here in the house EXCEPT red wine and I was feeling lazy and didn't want to run out and get any. So instead, at that step in the recipe, I substituted beef broth and it seemed to work out ok. Oh, I also added 2 bay leaves and a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste before popping it into the oven. :)

Let me tell you, the fragrance that was wafting through the house was unbelievable. The kind of thing that I knew was going to make my husband happy when he walked in the door from work. Oh man, it smelled amazing!! To serve along with the short ribs, I made some mashed potatoes using this recipe, which never disappoints.

3 medium yukon gold potatoes
1-2 pinches of salt
1-2 tbs butter
a healthy splash of milk (i used 2%)

I chopped the potatoes into uniform cubes and then put them in a pot and covered them with water. Added a bit of salt to that. Brought the water to a boil and simmered it over medium heat for 15 minutes. Then I poured it all into a strainer and returned the potatoes to the pan, set over to the side with the lid on, and let the potatoes steam for 10-15 mins. Then, using a potato masher, I added the butter and the milk and just mashed it all up until it was the consistency I wanted. Always add the salt last and taste it as you go.

Here is the final result. Have mercy! Stick to your ribs delicious!!

Scratch-Made Pizza!!!

Have you ever done something and failed miserably? Has that experience made you think you just weren't destined to be successful at that task? I have. ANything to do with creating something with yeast has been the bane of my existence for a very long time. Either my yeast was too old or I would kill it with water that was too hot. Well, today I wanted to make pizza for my boys from scratch. While their eating habits certainly need some major improvements, I realize that those changes aren't going to take place overnight and that baby steps are what are called for here. Pizza for dinner? Ok, fine. But we're not ordering Pizza Hut or Domino's nor are we getting Totino's Party Pizzas (oh I do love those) or Red Baron. If pizza is what's for dinner, then I get to control the ingredients and it's going to be really homemade.

My sister told me about a pizza dough recipe that she uses by Tyler Florence so, once I located one I gathered my ingredients and got to work. You can see the recipe on the Food Network's website here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fresh-pizza-dough-recipe/index.html

The first thing that thrilled me to no end was, I managed to get the yeast part right. I didn't kill it!!!! It was beautiful and foamy in the bowl. Next, I followed the directions for mixing it in my stand mixer then allowed it to rise for one hour. After an hour, I had two beautiful dough balls that I was able to top with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Here is what it looked like from beginning to end.



The boys loved it and I got to feel good about giving them a more reasonable version of one of their favorite foods!!! Also, if I can make this, YOU can make this. Believe me on that, ok?

When Life Hands You Lemons....

You know what? Sometimes, things happen and there is no rhyme or reason to it. They just happen and you've got to learn to roll with it. Otherwise, you'll get rolled over and what fun is that going to be?? After I met with the dermatologist the other day, she told me that I have a form of eczema as well as a mild case of rosacea. Man, can I just tell you that was NOT what I wanted to hear. It makes dealing with my skin a bit more challenging and, for the time being, I'm on some very pricey medicated creams and face wash. Oh well. What can one do? Deal with it. That's what. So, now that I now why my face has been looking like a chemical peel gone wrong, now I can focus on getting myself in shape.

This year, I turn 40. Yep, the big 4-0. Oh lordy look who's forty. I don't feel like I'm older than 25 and my husband would swear that at heart, I'm still a teenybopper. I do love me some pop music. :) But since this year is such a big deal birthday, I promised myself this was going to be the year that I got into shape. This year is supposed to be one where I am kinder to myself. So far, that is a goal that has gone unaccomplished. Now, it's time to get serious. My birthday is in October and, I'm not being unrealistic and expecting to be 120lbs by then. Or ever. But I do want to be eating better, eating more home-cooked meals and less fast food. I want to be MOVING a lot more than I do now. And those are all things that can be done, I just have to get off my tookus and do them!!

Today, my sister and I got together and she is helping me get back into the swing of cooking at home. The last few years have been pretty crazy here and I didn't deal with it well at all. My husband was hardly ever home for dinner and my kids hate to eat anything that isn't a nugget or cheese pizza. So it seemed like a lot of work to cook a full-on dinner just for me. Now I know though that the kids and I all need to eat better than we do and all it takes is a little planning. My sister also has a food blog called, For the Love of Food. She is a great cook and makes many things from scratch as well as on a budget. She does a great job of tentatively planning the weekly menu and sticking to it. Click on the link above and check out her blog when you get a chance. You'll be glad you did. And tell her I sent you!!

Anyway, I hope you will continue to stick with me as I pick up the pace and get this party started. This is the year of living better and treating myself with kindness. Won't you do it, too? You will thank yourself for it later. :)

Heading to the dermatologist today

My skin has been an absolute MESS lately so, out of desperation because nothing else I have tried is working, I'm going to the dermatologist today. I suspect that I will be making some dietary changes after this visit so look for an update on that. Of course, with access to the internet and WebMD I have already self-diagnosed. LOL And the information I've read thus far leads me to believe that I will see some positive changes by eliminating yeast and sugar from my diet. So, we'll see. My appointment is late this afternoon. Wish me luck!!

My Crazy Journey

When I started this blog I hoped I would be a lot thinner and would have enjoyed many delectable, home-prepared gourmet meals. What I have learned about myself is, I find that kind of lifestyle very difficult to maintain. For a long time, I was allowing other things to get in the way and, for the last several months, we have not been eating much prepared at home. Thankfully though, that has really turned around. I have found myself enjoying being in the kitchen again after hating it for a while. And I'm also on a journey to feed my soul along with my body and I am going to use this blog as a platform to share what happens along the way. Already, my body feels at peace knowing that it is going to get the sustenance it needs, not only with nutrients but with intangible things that only the spirit can feel.

So I hope you will join me as I continue on my path with all the twists and turns. I am not as concerned about being thin anymore. Now I just want to be happy. :)

Where Do I Begin?

So, forgive my long absence. I have been so uninspired and, even though my last post had me thinking I had my kitchen mojo back, I found out that was not the case at all. And even now, I have no idea how many times dinner will be homemade during the week but let me tell you this, my goal is to cook 100% of the time. Or if I don't want to cook then we will go out somewhere that uses local ingredients. Why? Because last night we watched "Food, Inc.", that's why.

If you haven't seen that movie, don't wait. It's a watch instant on Netflix right now or you can purchase it somewhere I'm sure. This movie totally rocked our world. Even my chicken nugget, french fry, coke drinking, happy meal eating children have sworn that they don't want to eat "like that" anymore. We have had really involved conversations about shopping at our local farmers market and supporting people close to home. The boys are totally on board with that, and they're even excited at the thought of meeting the people that grow our food. The farmers have become their new rock stars, people to be admired, and I'm cool with that.

In keeping with our new philosophy, the boys and I headed to Earthfare, an organic market in town, and we picked up some supplies for tonight's dinner. My oldest and I decided to share a grass-fed ribeye and with that I served a tomato-mozzarella salad prepared with basil from my mom's own garden. Well, maybe I should say my dad's garden because he's really the one that plants and takes care of everything. Anyway, the basil was SO fragrant! Never have I purchased any basil from the grocery store and had it smell so amazingly potent. Here is a photo of the finished product:




I used organic grape tomatoes as well as organic fresh mozz. Man, oh man! It was divine!! The ribeye was surprising to me. Having never eaten grass-fed beef before I didn't know what to expect so, upon popping the first bite in my mouth I was surprised by the gamey taste that greeted me. I like lamb so I really liked this beef! It's not as strong tasting as lamb but it certainly had echoes of that flavor.

Eating this way is going to be a lot more expensive and is going to require a lot more planning. After watching that movie though it became evident to me that we are not eating *right* much of the time and something's got to give. Hopefully, eating this way will teach my children about where our food comes from and how to feed yourself as healthfully as possible!

It has been a long, long, time

Wow, when I clicked on the blog this morning to look up a recipe for a friend, I was stunned when I saw that I haven't been on here since July. Then, when I thought about what all has been going on for the last several months, I wasn't THAT surprised.

In my last post, I was talking about how my meds for heartburn hadn't been working so I decided to try just Zantac on my own. Well, that ended up not working out at all. So there I was, off to see a specialist and, one barium x-ray later, I was on a new prescription...this time for Protonix...and on my way to feeling much, much, better. I'm still holding steady at 192 after losing several pounds because I couldn't eat anything. A couple pounds came back on but that's ok. At least I can eat now.

The one really depressing thing that has happened to me is, I really can't seem to get my cooking groove back. Now that I can eat, I just don't feel inspired to actually prepare anything wonderful for myself. Perfect example. Last night, instead of doing something with the fresh chicken breasts and veggies in my refrigerator, I opted to cook a grilled cheese sandwich, accompanied by a pickle. Now, that's thrilling isn't it? I do want to cook more and prepare fun, easy dishes but just haven't hit that point where I'm really motivated to do it. I do have to prepare Christmas Day dinner for my whole family this year and am looking forward to that. I want to WANT to cook every day though!!

Of course, it would seem I'm falling into the same old patterns that I always follow with my way of eating. There are always a million reasons that I can come up with that it's not convenient to cook for myself. What I need to do is just suck it up and eat right and exercise. Have you ever seen the move "The Color Purple"? There is a scene in it that keeps repeating in my mind and I would swear it's my body talking to me. The scene I'm talking about is when Celie confronts Danny Glover's character about how badly he has treated her. She says, "Until you do right by me, everything you even think about is gonna fail". And I think that is where I am right now. My body has had it and something has got to give. I'm not going to truly feel good until I do right by it.

I'm sorry it has been so long since I last posted and my plan is to get back on the wagon and start cooking beautiful, delicious meals again. I hope that, where ever you are, your holiday season is blessed, full of love and happiness. Come back and check for a new post this week. :)

The Ups and Downs of the last few months

Food wise, things have been mostly downs since March. My stomach has been in such a bad state for a very long time and I really didn't know what was going on. In August of 2008, I was diagnosed with heartburn and given a prescription for Prilosec and told to lose some weight. Beyond that, I received little direction. Things were going ok until the holidays when apparently, I lost my damn mind. I started eating and drinking things I don't even like such as coffee, alcohol. I was drinking soda every day when I hadn't had regular soda for years. My body kicked into high gear and rebelled and that rebellion manifested itself in a terrible way. What I thought was a stomach bug ended up being GERD, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Oh fun! My doctor doubled my dose of Prilosec and yet still no advice on what to eat. Taking matters into my own hands, I began to research it and came across of wealth of information that began to show me what I was going to have to do in order to live with GERD. It took a few months to get my medicine and my prescription right and now things seem to be on the right track. Boring menus but at least I'm not writhing in agony because my chest is on fire.

Some happy side effects of this new way of eating, I have lost 17 lbs. In August I weighed 207. This morning I weighed 190. Most of that weight loss occurred in the last couple of months because I was trying to find the right things to eat and my stomach was in such a horrible place. Now I'm on OTC Zantac 150, once a day. The prilosec and the nexium were both making my breathing labored and my heartbeat speed up. It was very frightening! The Zantac seems to be working so far. My blood pressure is good at 110/70 and my resting heart rate is excellent at 64. During the week, I exercise by swimming at the pool and that seems to really help me feel good, too.

My diet is less than exciting these days. The list of things I shouldn't eat is fairly long and rather depressing when you love to eat, like I do. Onions, garlic, pepper, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, lemon, oranges, limes, all no-no's. At first, I was consumed with thoughts of, "What am I going to eat then? Will I have to eat this way forever?" I still don't know the answer to the first one but the "what" seems to be a bit clearer. My day usually begins with a bit of cottage cheese and fresh fruit, I drink only water between meals, lunch is a sandwich or a turkey hot dog with a touch of cole slaw (no mustard or ketchup), dinner is chicken and veggies or something similar, lightly prepared. The key is to be sure it's low in fat because fat is a heartburn trigger as well. So far, things are boring but they're working. I'm losing weight and not suffering with heartburn.

This experience has taught me many things about myself. First of all, I have a CRAZY sweet tooth!! Living without sugar and chocolate has been so incredibly hard for me but the reward of comfortable living has made it doable. Second I have learned that at my darkest moment I won't give up. That is reassuring, indeed. Even when I was sitting in the doctor's office crying my eyes out, I had my doubts about whether there was a way for me to feel well again but I didn't give up hope. Thankfully, it feels like I'm on the right path.

If you are suffering from GERD or acid reflux, I highly recommend you get a book called,"Eating for Acid Reflux" which you can find at this link: http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Acid-Reflux-Handbook-Heartburn/dp/1569244928

I don't get any kickback if you buy it. It has made a big difference for me and I think it could for you, too, if you are not finding medical solutions to your acid reflux problem. My goal is to be off the medicine in a couple of months and to manage it completely through diet. That may not be possible until I lose all the weight I need to lose first but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

Hope all is well in your world!

It's Peach Cobbler, y'all

Mmmmmm. Have you ever had peach cobbler? Here in the South we eat it a lot in the summer time, especially with barbeque but I really had a hankering for it and just had to make myself some this week!

Now for the record, things with flour in them make me feel unwell so, these days, I really cannot enjoy many treats like these. As long as I don't have other things with flour in them during the day, I will allow myself one small portion of this, just so I can have a taste. This is a recipe that I adapted from Paula Deen's "The Lady & Son's" cookbook for pear cobbler.

My Peach Cobbler

Peach Mixture
16 oz bag of frozen peaches
2 tbs butter (salted)
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 TBS pumpkin pie spice (or less depending on your taste)
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 TBS cornstarch
1 TBS lemon juice, (fresh squeezed if you have it)

Batter:
1 stick salted butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large saute pan or non-stick skillet, empty the package of frozen peaches and allow the frost to cook off over medium heat. Add the butter, sugar, lemon juice, and pumpkin pie spice and cook for 1-2 mins. Take your 1/4 cup of cold water and add the cornstarch to it. Pour that into the skillet and cook over a low heat until the mixture is thick, stirring occasionally. As this is cooking, prepare your batter.

Place the stick of butter in a baking dish (like you would use for a casserole) and then put the dish and butter into the 350-degree oven until the butter has melted. Remove and leave the oven on.

Stir together the sugar and flour. Slowly add the milk, stirring a bit at a time, and mix well. Pour the batter over the melted butter in the baking dish. DON'T STIR IT. Gently scoop a couple of peach slices at a time from the skillet and drop them into the batter, moving around the dish until all the spaces are full of peaches. Then very carefully pour the remaining sauce from the pan over the top of the mixture (DON'T STIR) and put it in the 350 degree oven for 30-45 mins, until it's a nice golden brown. It should look like this:



Serve alone or with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top. It is delicious!!!!

BEST. Cookie. EVER.

For a long time now, I have been relentlessly searching for the perfect sugar cookie recipe. Many years ago, I ate a sugar cookie and loved it but had never been able to duplicate the flavor myself. Until now. Oh my goodness. Seriously, I will make these so much more often than Chocolate Chip which had been my favorite cookie for several years running. Because I'm a sharer, I'm going to share the recipe with you.

For all you New Year's dieters out there, I'm sorry for tempting you with this. They are truly, delicious.


I adapted the recipe from one in Dorie Greenspan's book called, "Baking", and her recipe is titled, "Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies".

2 cups all-purpose flour
scant 1/2 tsp KOSHER salt, omit the salt if you only have iodized or cut back to 1/4 tsp.
1/2 tsp baking powder
10 Tbs salted butter at room temp (yes, I said SALTED)
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 tsps almond extract

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.

With a mixer, (I used my kitchen aid stand mixer) beat the butter at medium speed until it is smooth. Add the sugar and beat again for 2 minutes. Add the large egg and the yolk and beat for a couple more minutes. Add the vanilla and the almond extracts. Turn the mixer off and add the flour in increments, mixing only until it comes together. Frankly at this point, I just grab a big wooden spoon and mix the flour in by hand because my stand mixer leaves all kinds of dry bits at the bottom otherwise. Don't overmix the dough though, you don't want your cookies to be tough.

On wax paper, divide the dough in half. you can roll it out into discs for cutting cookies or, if you're like me and totally impatient with that kind of thing, just roll it into a tube shape so it looks like refrigerated cookie dough you can buy at the store. Let it chill in the fridge for a couple of hours then you can cut into shapes or slice and bake. Your choice!

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 8-12 minutes (depending on your oven) until they are done. The tops should not change color. They should still look pale when done.

Please make these and let me know what you think. The original recipe called for unsalted butter and 1 tsp of vanilla, no almond extract. I for one, love the combination of sugar and sweet hence the reason I used salted butter. Oh, and I didn't have any unsalted butter in the fridge. :)

Make these cookies ASAP!!!