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!!

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. :)

Here we go!

So, after visiting the doctor I had a coming to Jesus party for myself. Things have got to change or else my life will be miserable and I don't want to be miserable. I've implemented some changes in my life that should help with that and here is what they are. First of all, I'm using weekly menus. This will help me keep a record of what I eat AND it will help me spend more wisely at the grocery store. Another thing I have done with the weekly menus is get the kids in on the action. Right now, they eat pretty much what they want which means I'm preparing at least 3 different meals, 3 times a day. I'm not going to do that anymore so we've made a compromise. They get to choose their meals 4x a week and then in turn, they must eat what I choose for them 3x a week. You can't make a kid go cold turkey onto grownup food so this seems like a decent way to get them to make the eventual switch to healthier eats. The kids and I sat down together and figured out or menu for this week and here they are, their menu and mine:

Kids
Friday: Chicken Nuggets, french fries (all from frozen)
Saturday: Pizza (homemade)
Sunday: My choice
Monday: My choice
Tuesday: Corn Dogs, Grapes
Wednesday: Spaghetti, Meatballs, Salad
Thursday: My choice

Me and Sean
Friday: Fish, Green beans, Rice
Saturday: Homemade pizza
Sunday: Meatloaf, broccoli, Potatoes
Monday: Oven Fried Chicken, Peas, Rice
Tuesday: Leftovers from Meatloaf night
Wednesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Thursday: Turkey Sloppy Joe's and Salad (from Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals 2 book)

There are some meals that we will eat with the kids like pizza and spaghetti because I use whole wheat crusts and noodles. And on the nights when the kids don't eat with us I'm able to incorporate leftovers into our meals. It's economical and healthful. I'm liking our plan thus far.

Here are some photos of what we've been eating this week. My new favorite breakfast is something the Pioneer Woman featured on the cooking portion of her website and it's called Egg-in-a-nest. I freaking love this now and eat it almost every day. There's just something about the combination of lightly toasted bread, seasoned with salt and pepper paired up with a gently fried egg in the middle. It is, in one word, divine.

I use a whole grain bread and cage free egg because the yolks are a million times better.

Another breakfast I make when I have the time is an egg and some sauteed potatoes.

For this version, I used red potatoes which I diced along with a green pepper that was grown organically in my container garden. The homegrown peppers pack a lot of flavor into them and are really sweet and delicious. I love eating an egg for breakfast, in case you couldn't tell. It just is a great start to the day.

Salmon is a favorite fish around here. It's hearty, pretty, and doesn't need a lot of adornment to bring out the wonderful flavor of this fish. Here is a piece of wild Alaskan Salmon that I bought at the store:

Isn't it beautiful? Anyway, I cook this under the broiler skin side-up after I season it with a tsp of olive oil, and a tsp of lemon-pepper. Once the skin begins to bubble, I pull it out of the oven, pull the skin off, flip it over and finish it off under the broiler for a few more minutes. The times will vary depending on the thickness and cut of your fish but this particular piece took 5-7 mins start to finish. I served it with a long/wild rice blend, and steamed green beans that I tossed in a pan with some garlic infused oil. Mmmmmmm. So good.


Yesterday, I got a little crazy in the kitchen and decided to make my own pizza dough from scratch. Baking and I don't usually get along because, let's face it. I'm one lazy sucker and I don't like have to be so precise with my measurements. Eyeballing it is more my thing but in order for me to have a healthy dough, I was going to have to make it myself. Last year, I bought a Wolfgang Puck food processor and it came with a couple of recipes for pizza dough. I used the one for whole wheat dough and it turned out all right but I don't think I would use it again. Anyway, here is the pizza in all it's crispy, golden glory:

Again, I used homegrown peppers, canned black olives, and canned mushrooms. Calm down! I was going to use fresh shrooms but they had gone bad. I'll use fresh next time, ok? Here is the pizza up close:

Can't you just smell it?

I'm feeling really positive about this direction in which we're going. It feels good including the kids in the menu-making process and it helps all of us make healthier choices. Since I've added wheat products back into my diet I'm expecting to see my weight go back up a bit but this week, I'm putting exercise into my routine and am hoping it may offset the gain.

I'll be back tomorrow to post pics of tonight's dinner!

Let me talk to you about Brussels Sprouts

A much maligned vegetable indeed but one that, when prepared right, can be one of the most delicious things you have ever eaten. First and foremost, it is imperative that you begin with fresh brussels sprouts. In many cases, frozen vegetables are just as good as their fresh counterparts, but in this instance fresh is a gazillion times better. Frozen brussels always taste skuny and yucky to me but fresh ones have a wonderful flavor. The recipe I prefer to use is the Barefoot Contessa's. Ina Garten is a little snooty but there can be no denying that her recipes turn our right every time. This recipe can be found in her book, Barefoot In Paris or you can find it on Food Tv's website.

Brussels Sprouts Lardons

2 tablespoons good olive oil
6 ounces Italian pancetta or bacon, 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts (2 containers), trimmed and cut in 1/2
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup golden raisins
1 3/4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned broth
Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan and add the pancetta. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is golden brown and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Add the Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper to the fat in the pan and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the raisins and chicken stock. Lower the heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. If the skillet becomes too dry, add a little chicken stock or water. Return the pancetta to the pan, heat through, season to taste, and serve.

*********note from evie***** I do not add raisins when I cook this but last night I did use craisins for the first time and it was GOOD. Don't poo poo it until you try it.



Here are the fresh sprouts, cooking in the bacon drippings. Smells so good...



At this stage, I've added the broth and they cook until most of the broth is gone. I add the craisins and the reserved bacon pieces and serve alongside a piece of salmon that I totally overcooked. Sprouts - good. Salmon - BAD.



For the past couple of days, I've been eating some buttermilk biscuits that I made from scratch. It's a recipe that I got from Pinch My Salt's website (see links) and I just adore these biscuits. When it's cold outside, nothing says comfort like a warm, soft, fluffy biscuit!



Also, a couple of days ago, I made a ginormous batch of Split Pea with Ham soup and we've been living on that as well. I would take a photo of that but as my friend, Rinnyboo, can attest, it doesn't look very good. Tastes great but it's ugly as a mud fence. My recipe for that is simple:

1 leftover hambone with ham still on
6 cups of liquid (I used a combination of Chicken and Turkey Stock and water)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 package dried green split peas (1 lb?)
2 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped

In a large stockpot, add liquid, hambone, and split peas. Bring to a boil, cover, and then lower heat and simmer for one hour. After one hour, add the chopped onion, carrot, and thyme leaves, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove hambone from the pot, leaving as much ham in the soup as possible. Cool soup and then store in refrigerator. This makes A LOT of soup so you may want to freeze half of it.

I'm still struggling with my eating habits, friends. I'm at 194 and holding which I'll be happy with if I make it through the holidays at that weight and don't add anymore. Hope everyone else has been faring well!

Recent Eats

Alrighty then! Let me try and run down my grub-a-dubs since Saturday for you. Saturday night, I cooked a gorgeous New Zealand rack of lamb, along with some mashed potatoes and tiny green peas. We spent the rest of the evening on our patio, sitting in front of our new fire pit. It was really, really nice.

Sunday morning, I got up and had this for breakfast:



Remember this? It's my version of the Panera Souffle that I love so much. Then, for lunch I had an egg salad sandwich on whole wheat bread. Dinner was a little less healthy, a sub from Jersey Mike's and I was regretting eating that almost immediately.

Monday, I got up and had one of these glorious things for breakfast with some cherry preserves:



I can't remember what I had for lunch but, for dinner I made Shrimp and Grits. Yumm-O!



Today for breakfast I had another croissant. Sooo good. Then for lunch I had leftover shrimp and grits. Dinner was fairly substantial. See, I have taken on the mantle of cooking Christmas dinner for my family and we traditionally have a rib-roast. Well, that's not exactly something I cook all the time or ever so I felt a need to practice before the big show. Last year my mom helped me but she got drunk and gave me some very bad instructions so this year I'm doing it alone. Luckily, the grocery store had roasts on sale this week so here goes.

Here is the roast totally naked. It's okay, I'm not exploiting anyone here, we're all consenting adults...



I placed it rib side down in a roasting pan and then slathered it with olive oil, herbs de provence, salt and pepper. Then I surrounded the meat with some root veggies (carrots and onions) and covered those with olive oil. Here, take a look for yourself:



Then, I put the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and cooked the roast until the internal temp reached 125 degrees. I took it out of the oven to rest for 20 minutes.



While it was resting, I prepared some mashed potatoes and some baby broccoli. It was fabulous! The roast was so incredibly tender and juicy! I'm not scared to cook it at Christmas at all.

This week, I have really gotten back on "plan" and, with the exception of the Jersey Mike's incident, I haven't eaten any junky food. I'm feeling good about getting through the holidays without going crazy.

Tomorrow's food won't be terribly exciting, it'll just be more leftovers but I'll fill you in all the same. Have a great night!

Fooling Myself

Friends, I have been in deep denial. I somehow have been able to rationalize eating unhealthy food, which I haven't documented here. Frozen Pizzas, hot dogs, and McDonalds are not great choices and once in a very long while, it's ok to eat something like that. However, I have been eating like that a lot during the week and have been cooking less and less. My weight is back at 192, after having lost 3lbs by following the principles set forth by Dr. Clower in The Fat Fallacy so now is the time for me to get a grip. The holidays can be such a difficult time for dieters but for people who eat whole foods, not processed foods, it can be a cornucopia of delights. Eating whole foods in the proper portion sizes is my goal, along with banning all junk food through the end of the year. Not only is it bad for my waistline but it's bad for my wallet as well. You will begin to see more posts from me again regarding what I'm eating because it's gotten to the point of ridiculousness here. It is possible to lose weight eating good food. One just has to make the conscious choice to do it.

Thanks for sticking around and hopefully, you'll find the site a little more interesting once I get back on track.

She's baaaaaack

Sorry about the break, folks but I really, really needed it! There were so many things I wanted to do, NEEDED to do, and I was feeling challenged by the need to keep up with the photos here on this blog. Also, it was getting a little overwhelming to come up with something pretty to eat every meal of the day. I'm over that now because I'm getting back to my idea of just capturing what I eat. If it's gorgeous, great. If it's ordinary, great. It is what it is. I know you guys aren't sitting out there expecting me to fix some fantabulous meal 3x a day!

Anyway, I took some pictures of dinner last night, which was fabulous and I'm here today to share with you the beauty of a tapas dinner. If you are unfamilar with the concept of tapas, it's a Spanish term referring to tastes of different dishes. If you went to a tapas restaurant you would order several different dishes to share with folks at your table. It's a great way to eat because it's hard to eat too much. It's like having a dinner of appetizers. Well, my sister and I had gotten together eariler in the day and had decided to cook something but we weren't sure what. IN fact, when we went to the store yesterday afternoon, we had a completely different idea about dinner and we changed our mind as we were collecting ingredients. Here is our menu from last night:

Steak Crostini, with Italian flat-leaf parsley, a sour cream mustard with horseradish, topped with shaved parmesan

Caprese Salad which is toasted bread topped with sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil leaf, olive oil, and salt and pepper

Mini Ciliantro Crabcakes made with (gasp) canned white crabmeat, chopped fresh cilantro, roasted red pepper, red onion, coriander, nutmeg, and chinese five spice powder. Along with egg, mayo and panko bread cumbs as the binders.

Hoisin Haricot Verts, french green beans blanched then cooked in a saute pan with Hoisin Sauce and sesame seeds.

Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas, my sister's own recipe so I'm not sure what's in it besides chicken, chili powder, cumin, sour cream, cheese, green chilies, sandwiched in 2 tortillas then fried in a saute pan. Yum-O

My sister also made these divine Mini Chocolate Cream Pies which are made up of chocolate pudding to which she added coffee and Godiva chocolate liquer. Holy. Crap. They were good.

Here are pics from dinner:



Steak Crostini



Caprese Salad



Mini Crabcakes



Haricot Verts



Chicken Quesadilla





Chocolate Cream pies before whipped Cream and after.

This dinner was so delicious, both to the eye and the palate which only increases the pleasure of the meal. I highly encourage you to try a snacky dinner at least once a week. It's a lot of fun!

Today's Eats - Won't You Take Me to Twinkietown?

If you read over at my other blog then you already know about my homemade twinkie calamity. I'll try and give a brief summary. Since we've decided not to eat any processed or chemical laden foods, we've had to put the kibosh on snacky foods like twinkies. A couple of days ago, my youngest was positively begging for some in the grocery store and was difficult to console when I told him no. He calmed down when I said we could make our own twinkies....little did he know that the first batch would be a disaster. Thankfully though, he was able to find another use for them and if you follow the link above, you will see what I'm talkin' about. Well this morning I decided to give it another go and, using a different recipe, made a beautiful yellow cake and filled it with cream. Not exactly like twinkies but much better for you and pretty damn good, if I may say so myself.



After doing that all morning, I still had to get ready for my lunch with Krista. Thankfully, I had planned something simple so once I had the kitchen cleaned up it was ready for me to destroy it all over again. I sauteed some chicken breasts in olive oil having seasoned them beforehand with garlic salt and black pepper. Along with it I fixed my trusty mashed potatoes and haricot verts. I meant to make tea but just didn't have time to do it and wouldn't you know it's the one thing Krista requested?! Anyway, here is my plate from lunch today:



You might look at that plate and say, "Wow, that is A LOT of food!" But it's not. It's half of a chicken breast, 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes, and about 15 green beans and that was plenty of food. The plate I used makes it look like a lot of food. It's an antique dinner plate and it's 7" in diameter. Okay, wait. I'm lying to you because I don't know for sure. Hang on and I'll go measure it.

Good thing I went and checked because I don't want to mislead anybody. It's actually 8" in diameter. Just for kicks I measured one of my current dinner plates and it's 11". That's a huge difference and it really illustrates the point that it's easy to overload yourself when you use a plate that big.

Krista and I really took our time getting through lunch today and probably took an hour to eat. It was a nice, slow lunch filled with good conversation. She and I only see each other about once a month so we always have a lot to catch up on when we get together. I really enjoy her friendship!

Not sure what dinner's going to be tonight but I have a whole breast leftover from lunch so I'll probably fix that with some rice and a veggie. You know what I'm going to say...come back and check for the dinner update!!

DINNER

Leftover chicken from lunch, Long grain and wild rice, and yellow squash and zucchini. I forgot to take a picture before I started and by the time I remembered my plate looked like this:



The rice was a prepackaged "natural" product. The squash was cooked in olive oil, butter, chopped onion, sage, thyme, and Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt. Tasty! I also had one of the heart biscuits that was leftover from the chicken stew from a few nights ago along with a glass of iced tea.

It feels like another good eating day!

Today's Eats - Simple Trend

The boys slept really late this morning so I was able to be up and completely by myself for a long time today. It was really, really nice! It's easy to underestimate the power of solitude. When offered it can provide a respite from the daily activities that can drain even the most super of moms. Anyway, my solitude this morning was greatly enjoyed while eating this for breakfast:



One egg and one piece of whole wheat toast with a light touch of butter. So, so good!

Lunch was a late one today, around 2pm. I got hooked on the movie, "Empire Falls" on HBO and didn't want to move until it was over. I was completely immersed in it! When I finally did come up for air, I fixed myself a tuna sandwich on whole wheat toast with a glass of whole milk. Really hit the spot!



The lemon slices were purely there to make the photo a little more colorful.

I think tonight for dinner I'm going to fix tuna, fresh though, not canned. Much like we had at the restaurant the other night, seared on both sides and rare in the center. Please come back later tonight and check for the update!

UPDATE: DINNER

sean had to work late and my tuna didn't thaw out so this is what I had for dinner tonight:



Ginger Beer which is a fancy ginger ale, quite good.



A big bowl of popcorn. This is two bags of 100 calorie pop secret, not exactly highbrow fare! The tuna will just have to wait until tomorrow.

One more addition. I had a teacup-full of ice cream. It's not a modern size though. It's an antique cup that belonged to one of Sean's aunts and it's pretty small.



Pralines and Cream ice cream. Delish!

Today's Eats - Barefoot Contessa Showed Up

Ahhhh. Sunday mornings. Quiet, except for the crinkle of the morning paper. It was a nice morning because we were all up early and ready to face the day. Sean was very sweet and went to Panera and got me a chocolate croissant-ish pastry for breakfast. It was tasty!



We hung out, watched tv, and then I ran to the grocery store by myself. Can I just tell you what a luxury it is to go alone? I could actually take the time to look at all the glorious offerings in our newest fancy-schmancy store and it was so, so nice. I have to tell you, I've been buying milk from a local creamery and they sell it in glass bottles and man, it is good! I cannot fathom going back to the plastic jug. Anyway, I got home and fixed lunch for everyone and then fixed some for myself. Sometimes with all the different orders that get filled around here, I feel like I'm probably qualified to work in a restaurant kitchen. For myself I prepared leftover crabcakes and a salad with a honey ginger dressing.



Sean took the boys to a batting cage which gave me more mommy time. Nice! Then we all went to a couple of open houses and came home. I finally had enough time to devote to the Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Stew with Biscuits. I haven't eaten it yet but here is a photo of the finished product:



It is wonderous. You will not believe how good this is and it's not hard to make at all. When I serve myself I will have a small scoop with one biscuit. Delish!

If you're interested in the recipe, please email me and I will see what I can do.

unschoolingwhimsigal@gmail.com

Today's Eats

Today I didn't want to have much to clean up in the kitchen so I decided on frozen waffles for breakfast. After freaking out thinking there wasn't anymore syrup in the house, it was finally located and the waffle toasting could commence....ahhhhh. Can't you just smell the warm butter and syrup?



After a busy morning and after being locked out for much of the afternoon, I was finally able to eat lunch around 2:30. It was a simple affair, the rest of yesterday's egg salad.



Egg salad is so yummy!

Because we still have some projects to do this afternoon, I won't be fixing the Barefoot Contessa's recipe that I mentioned yesterday. I'll tell you what it is though because I think I'm going to fix it tomorrow: Chicken Stew with Biscuits. It's slap your momma good and it's in her book, "Family Style". She may have the recipe on her website, too. Sometimes she puts them on there.

Tonight will probably be soup and sandwiches but I will update so you know for sure!

DINNER: Check out this monstrosity!



Pizza Hut Supreme pizza, 2 slices. Amazingly enough I didn't get heartburn after eating this beast. Will not be repeating that meal.....

The Plan

Stephanie had asked me to explain my "minuscule" portion sizes and, after seeing the word "minuscule" I felt compelled to do so. The idea is to take less than you normally would and put it on your plate. For example, if you normally would have a whole chicken breast, a whole baked potato, and a large helping of some other side, then start with eating half of what you normally would. Use a small plate. Research has shown that over the years, our dinner plates have grown by 2-3 inches in diameter. If you see a plate that size with small amounts of food on it, you're going to think you don't have enough on your plate. But by using a salad plate, which is the old size that dinner plates used to be, you will find that you get just enough to eat. It's not really that you're eating minuscule amounts, you're just taking less and finding that it's enough.

Dr. Clower's book goes into it much better than I can and in a fun, friendly voice, too. Here is an example of a day on Dr. Clower's plan which was part of a course I took offered on his website:

Breakfast: Target time 15-20 mins
2 egg frittata with onion and garlic
whole wheat toast with butter
small glass of juice
Lifestyle tip of the meal: Wake up 30 minutes early. Sit in the peace of your kitchen to begin your day with your partner, paper, or favorite cup of coffee.

Lunch: Target time (15 minutes)
Open faced tuna sandwich on whole wheat toast, topped with a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese, small spinach salad with tomatoes and raspberry vinaigrette.
1/2 pint of chilled whole milk

Dessert: Target time 10 minutes
One square of rich dark chocolate, about "two thumbs" in size.

Ender: target time 20 minutes
For the ender sip on a small cup of coffee or tea.
Lifestyle tip of the meal: Estimate the size of half your sandwich and resolve to finish with only that half after 7 minutes or so.

Snack:Target time 15 minutes
Handful of unsalted nuts (brazil, almonds, cashews) approx 10

Dinner;
Main target Time 20 minutes
Tilapia baked in olive oil and crisp white wine with capers and onions.
Garlic green beans (5-10)
Rosemary red potatoes (3-4 quarters)
1 glass pinot grigio or similar
1 glass water

Dessert Target Time 10 minutes
Creme Brulee in a ramekin

Ender: Target time 10 minutes
End with a cup of hot herbal tea or cocoa
Lifestyle tip of the meal: Set the table tonight, chill the wine, set out the candles.

You can see that the whole idea is for the meal to be an experience, not just shoveling food in one's mouth as quickly as possible. It does call for some common sense, which is something I have been having a little trouble with. It's easy in the beginning to go crazy with the things you're allowed to eat. That's something I definitely have to watch because the plan is also about learning how to balance the meal. Lean protein like fish and chicken are better choices than red meat, which is ok to eat once in a while. Don't drown things in rich sauces and butter, let them highlight the dish that you've prepared.

I hope this makes sense. I cannot recommend more strongly that you get your hands on a copy of this book. Amazon is selling used copies for $1 and some change for goodness sake! I just ordered a copy of the newest version, which I've heard is similar to the original but, I have to see for myself. :) Hopefully it will be here this weekend and I will be able to let you know.

Use small plates.
Take bites no larger than the end of your thumb, chipmunk cheeks are a no-no.
Take less than usual - amounts that might make you think you'll need seconds.
Eat slowly, converse with those around you, savor the flavors of the meal.
Use nice silverware, linens, and glasses. Every meal is good enough for the the good stuff.
Put your fork down between bites and don't put a new bite in until the first is completely chewed and gone.

You really are what you eat so use the best, whole, nutritious ingredients possible. I hope this made things a little bit clearer. If not, please let me know. I'll be happy to try and explain it better!

Deep breath in.....exhale.....Today's Eats

Thank you for sticking by me during my minor meltdown. I've had a lot of stuff simmering just beneath the surface and I think it all came to a head yesterday. I'm feeling a lot better today and with my emotions in check it's been easy to keep my eating in check, too.

I began the day with what I consider to be the ultimate breakfast: scrambled eggs.



I cooked three eggs in 2 tsps of butter and Iain and I split them. I'm very particular about my eggs. They cannot be dry nor runny. They must be creamy and buttery. Oh so delicious. This consistency is achieved by cooking them over low heat and stirring them often. I add a touch of salt and a couple of grinds of fresh pepper. Really such a great way to start the day. I also had a glass of whole milk 6-8oz.

For lunch I prepared Cream of Mushroom Soup. I don't think I will ever eat canned again because homemade is absolutely delicious. The only thing about it that has me in a quandary is how will I make green bean casserole?! I will worry about that at Thanksgiving.

Anyway, again I used organic baby bella mushrooms which are just so flavorful! When it was ready, I had a ladleful of soup and then a salad topped with sliced red peppers, bacon bits, and ranch dressing, maybe a Tbs of dressing. This was really satisfying. The warmth of the soup and the crunch of the salad are such a great pairing.



You see the two breadsticks in the picture? I didn't eat them. They were there because I thought the plate needed something else on it.

Tonight I think I'm going to cook the asian-flavored dish for dinner. I'll update when I'm done.

Also, I owe Stephanie a post on how I'm eating and I will work on that and get that done tonight as well.

UPDATE: DINNER

Well, I finally cooked my Asian-flavored dish.



I'd tell you how I did it but I was just making it up as I went along. It was pretty good but I forgot to account for the saltiness in soy sauce so the the dish was a little bit too salty. All in all it feels like today was a good eating day!

Today's Eats

Well, I thought I was going to make soup today but as I am wont to do, I changed my mind. I'm a woman and it's my prerogative, right? Good, glad we're in agreement there. Anyway, I skipped breakfast today, not intentionally, just didn't feel the need and by the time I was hungry I might as well cook lunch. If you read my other blog, then you are well-versed in the challenges faced by my family in trying to eat healthy. Ryan has been the biggest struggle because when he was younger I went for convenience vs. nutrition and it's been hard to get him to make healthy choices. His biggest weakness is chicken nuggets and although I have made my own countless times I've never been able to get him to eat them...until today!

Since I had decided to make chicken nuggets for Ryan, it just made sense for me to eat them as well. No sense in completely wrecking the kitchen. I had some organic chicken tenders and cut them into inch pieces as uniform as possible. Then I took two eggs and a splash of half and half and mixed them together in order to soak the chicken pieces. Next, I took some Panko bread crumbs, poultry seasoning, pepper, and salt and mixed that together in another dish. Then, I took my largest saucepan and put in peanut oil until it was about 1.5 inches deep and heated it over med high heat. I dredged the egg soaked chicken through the panko mixture and then gently placed it into the hot oil. They did not take long to cook and were a gorgeous golden brown in no time. I gave Ryan a few and he ate them! I was flabbergasted and pleased beyond all reckoning. Now I can stop buying the processed nuggets at the store and fix my own for him. I can't tell you how great that feels!

For myself, I had a few nuggets and an organic salad made up of baby romaine lettuce leaves. Delish!



I ended the meal with a serving of chocolate, which is equal to the width of three fingers:



I actually only ate two squares off one row of chocolate. It was plenty.

Today, I was walking upstairs and was struck by how good I feel. Generally speaking, I've been feeling more energetic and clear-headed. I have no doubt it is in regard to me preparing most of our food from scratch. The kids have been happier and easier to get along with and the credit should go in large part to our reconstructed diet. It really does seem to have made a difference.

at this point, I'm not sure what's on the menu for dinner but I promise to update later!

Yesterday's Eats

Yesterday was a pretty good day eating-wise. I got up in the morning and started the day off with this:



The sausage was not a natural/organic product but it was freshly made at my grocery store so it at least didn't have any additives or preservatives.

Later on for lunch I had a PB&J with a glass of cold, whole milk. It's really hard to beat that, I think. It's one of the top comfort meals of all time.



I think perhaps the jelly I used was bad because I felt nauseous a couple of hours after eating. The sandwich was composed of Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter, Organic Apricot Jam, and 100% Whole Wheat Bread.

Dinner was fabulous, if I may say so myself. I prepared chicken breasts seasoned with Lemon Pepper and cooked them in Coconut Oil. My new friend, Marin, told me that coconut oil is healthier than butter so I bought some and have been using it as an experiment. It doesn't impart any kind of odd flavor or anything. To accompany the chicken, I also cooked my favorite haricot verts and NC sweet potatoes baked in the oven. The potatoes were small in size and I scraped the flesh from mine because I prefer to mash it up. To the mashed sweet potato I added a tsp of butter, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of cumin, a pinch of kosher salt, and a couple of grinds of pepper. Really unbelievable!



Here is another shot so you can see the potatoes in all their glory.



You know what's funny? For years, I absolutely despised sweet potatoes. Then, a few years ago, I went to a low-carb lifestyle for a while and my taste buds changed. I began to like all kinds of things that had been hated in the past like brussel sprouts and asparagus. At Thanksgiving that year my mom sent us home with a plate of leftovers and later that night, I snuck into the kitchen for a snack and took a little nibble of sweet potatoes that she had put on the plate. They were glorious and I've been hooked ever since. I prefer to fix mine with slightly more savory seasonings though opposed to the uber-sweet concoction favored at the Thanksgiving holiday.

While I didn't take any pictures of it, I had a couple of teaspoons of Ben and Jerry's Butter Pecan Ice Cream. Usually I would fix myself a bowl of ice cream but now I realize that a taste is really all one needs sometimes.

I haven't eaten breakfast yet today and it's now 10am so I will probably start with lunch instead!

"See" you later!