Rabbits knocking at my door

I had a dream last night where a couple of bunny rabbits came to my door and asked that I stop eating to many veggies because I was taking veggies away from them. I think it had something to do with watching my son play Rabbits Go Home on the Wii and trying to use up greens yesterday. Sometimes dreams are just you mind repeating the events of the day in a colorful way.

Breakfast was cinnamon fruity oatmeal (pear, apple and blueberries) topped with a quarter cup of cottage cheese. I am not sure if I like this combo as well as oats with seeds or nuts.

Lunch was Quinoa Orange Basil salad over romaine, watercress and dandelion greens. Grains over greens seem odd ? It's really not, and with the right kind of grain you can get a wide range of nutrition. Quinoa , however is something else. While treated like a grain, quinoa is not actually a grain.Instead it is a member of the same family as spinach and swiss chard.
It was revered as an important food by the Incas. It contains a complete protien and is high in lyscine,which is needed for tissue growth andrepair.This could make a great breakfast alternative for growing children or those working on strenght training.Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and
phosphorus, this "grain" may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Magnesium also relaxes the blood vessels, thus promoting cardiovascular health.One word of caution- if you are on an oxolate restricted diet, avoid quinoa as it is high in these. So Quinoa falls into the realm of other rabbit habits!

Dinner was attack of the vegetables- grilled chicken breast with roast veggies ( eggplant, asparagus,zucchini,mushrooms,peppers, broccoli and butternut squash mix) and Doubly Delicious Greens

Doubly Delicious Greens

1 large bunch bok choy -- chopped
1 large bunch Swiss chard -- chopped
1 medium onion -- coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic -- chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (no salt) -- (15 ounce)
2 cups shiitake and/or baby bella mushrooms -- sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning

Place bok choy, Swiss chard, onions, and garlic in a large steamer and
steam until almost tender, about 10 minutes. In a large pot add tomatoes,
mushrooms, steamed greens mixture, and seasoning. Simmer over low heat
for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves 8.

We got in more boxing, walking and ab work. I noticed yesterday that Nick is beginning to develop somewhat definable abdominal muscles and it looks cute ! He is also beginning to get noticeable muscles on his shoulders and neck ( cannot remember the names of these). It looks funny to see his body begin to get some kind of definition ! I am not so sure about my own body. Things feel tighter in my abdominal region and my clothes fit different, but I have not taken my measurements or dropped a size that I am aware of, so I am not sure. Just carry on, knowing that something is happening .

Someone's in the kitchen, working

Yesterday it seems that the entire day revolved around food in some way- and not in a fun way ! It was spent cooking, cleaning, chopping and then repeat.Some days are like that , and I hate them. Not because I hate cooking, but rather it is a sign that I did not think out my plan well enough in advance to make it workable. On those days there is nothing for it but to push through and know that things will be different the next day .

We started out with a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, and then Bob headed off to sing at services. I sat down to plan the week to come school wise, and I remembered we were having something new for lunch so I stopped to check the menu and remembered about 15 other food related tasks I needed to accomplish for the week ahead, so I stopped to do those first. And in that process I discovered about 5 other things that needed to be done Saturday but I had run out of steam to accomplish. So add them. In the meantime the sink got filled up with dishes so did them, noticed the counter was filled with debris so deal with that, go back to the tasks and notice it was almost lunch time so speed through those and do the lunch prep and....it was just non stop in the morning! Lunch was a little latter than normal because of rehearsals, which was a good thing in a sense because it gave me a little more time to try to catch up.

Lunch was a Portabello and red pepper sandwich on a whole wheat pita with tahini spread and arugula. Served with carrot and celery sticks and fresh fruit salad. Yummy ! Our market had several varieties of berries on sale this week and I took full advantage of that fact.

If the morning did not provide enough fun, the afternoon certainly tried to make up for it. The original plan was to head out for a walk after lunch but I was still knee deep in must do things and behind on other no food tasks, the income taxes needed to get filed and I was really achy from the morning and the day before so we declared a rest /catch up day. I finished the food related things ( and the clean up ) and moved on to lesson planning, my own studies, reiki work and then something new and novel- more cooking ! Dinner prep needed to be done. This was a delicious but fiddly sort of meal. At least it felt fiddly after a day of so many other food related activities.
Baked Apricot garlic chicken thighs with Doubly Delicious greens - really turned out delicious !

Baked Apricot Garlic Chicken Thighs


4 apples -- quartered
2 oranges -- quartered
1 onion -- peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
20 fresh sage leaves
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup apricot spreadable 100% fruit
2 teaspoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
3 teaspoons Spike seasoning (no salt) or other no salt seasoning
6 cloves garlic -- pressed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut apples in quarters and slice core out leaving flat.
In baking pan arrange apples, oranges, and onion close together. Lay herbs on top of fruit.
Place tenderloins on top of fruit, onion, and herb mixture. If using turkey scallops, fan out
three scallops on top of each other and place over apple, orange, onion and herb mixture,
and do the same for the remaining three. Mix apricot spread, liquid aminos, Spike and garlic.
Generously spread turkey with sauce. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes until
turkey juices run clear when pricked in center with a fork. Serves 3.



Doubly Delicious Greens

1 large bunch bok choy -- chopped
1large bunch Swiss chard -- chopped
1 medium onion -- coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic -- chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (no salt) -- (15 ounce)
2 cups shiitake and/or baby bella mushrooms -- sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning

Place bok choy, Swiss chard, onions, and garlic in a large steamer and steam until almost tender,
about 10 minutes. In a large pot add tomatoes, mushrooms, steamed greens mixture, and seasoning.
Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves 8.

Come evening we were all kind of tired and spent the evening watching tv. Caught the next episode of Ruby , and it kind of struck a weird place in my head because of the connection with her father.Fathers indeed have a lot to do with deep issues of any woman, and it reminded me of several of the issues I confronted in my own journey to lose 110 lbs in the past. My father was responsible for most of the skewed food messages I had, through no ill intention of his own. Then we watched the season opener of Gene Simmons Family Jewels to watch Shannon go through a potential breast cancer scare. Oh thanks TV for the mental disemboweling of the evening ! My father died of breast cancer in 2004, and the subject evokes really strong feelings in me. Watching these two programs left me feeling like I had a whole lot of clean up to do in my head ! The evening was redeemed by the premiere of Kirstie Allie's Big life. I think I really, really like her !I don't agree with her motivation to lose weight, but I think she is going to make the whole journey a heck of a lot of fun to watch !

Back to the grind today, and I STILL have cooking things to accomplish ! In my mind I am working on creating something like The Domestic Workout where your household equipment becomes your gym. Presses with a broom while sweeping, vacuum squats, toilet scrubbing with weights and so forth. I think I could create it, package it and sell enough to hire a personal chef and housekeeping staff and chauffeur with limo so I could just get up, head to a real gym, eat healthy foods prepared for me and do all those other things I really want to do and are also good at !