Eggs and Worms

It was grocery shopping day the other day. I plan my menus for a week, make a list of what things I need in the coming week and stick to the plan unless extraordinary events happen. When it is one of those weeks , I wind up with surplus things. If they are pantry or freezable, no problem. If they are produce, it becomes a must use it up thing. Such was the case this week- the abnormally hot weather saw a couple of changes in menu plans ( normally we are in the 50's at this time of year- we spent a week in the 80's). So I went through the fridge, found my surplus items and though that they would make an interesting egg dish- fitting in with the meatless Friday thing. The use of eggs for a meatless dish instantly made me think of  one sibling I shall refer to as The Worm.

I was raised nominally Catholic- which meant we were Catholic in name only. We occasionally went to Mass ( The Worm and I on our own and our parents would never attend), went to CCD for a short time and observed a lot of the "cool" Catholic things like Rosaries from our grandmother. Three things remained absolute must do  Catholic behaviors- Baptism, Burial and Meatless Fridays. I loved it, but The Worm hated fish, and entered into something I called "Logical Sport B*tching" over the whole meatless thing was brought up. Why was beef, pork and chicken bad when milk, cheese and eggs were okay? In those days no one used terms like Vegetarian, Vegan, Lacto ovo vegetarian or so forth- they just lumped it all as meatless. The Worm was a borderline "Mrs Literal" and anything that she felt defied her rules of logic became something that she would argue over, for ,about, because of, in spite of- much in the same way people would train for and participate in a sport.( She still does this). It was amusing, aggravating, interesting and just plain "The Worm". Such concepts didn't bother me because I understood the logic but could never figure out how to put it into words. Years later I learned all of the technical reasons why Lenten foods are what they are ( it's not a cut and dried thing and is partially historical and symbolic), but to this day whenever the idea of eating eggs in Lent comes up, my thoughts turn to The Worm.

Back to the kitchen  !Here was what I had to work with :

With some chopping and a skillet, it became this tasty, colorful number:

 I call it Use it Up Poached eggs

3 pints grape tomatoes , cut in half
3 big handfuls baby spinach
1 bunch green onions, sliced
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
butter and olive oil

In a large skillet with a lid melt about 2 T butter with as much olive oil and sweat the green onions. Add the tomatoes, crush slightly and cover so the juices are trapped. In about 5 minutes add the spinach and cover till wilted. Stir the mix and crack 4 eggs into it,season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, till the yolk is set.

It's not pretty !

Yesterday, inspired by the previous day's excursion with watering plants without aid, I determined that it was time to start pushing myself towards strengthening the muscles again. It it to the point where standing or walking is painful, but not of a sharp, nauseating variety. There is a difference- building muscle strength is pain, but it is a more mellow, core level sensation. Injury pain is sharp, blinding and demands immediate attention. Personally, I think healing pain is more sustained, and therefor a lot worse than the other ! However pain must be endured to heal, and it is best to get about the buisness of facing it sooner than later with recovery for me. So I set a goal to take 1,000 steps during the day. Not run a marathon, not climb a mountain, but simply get in 1,000 steps throughout the day without aid. I strapped on my pedometer and set about the day, encouraging myself to take extra steps whenever possible. It felt good AND painful, and I was excited to learn my step total for the day. Turns out I positioned it wrong, and for the entire day I registered 5 steps. Today is another day, and I have the pedometer positioned better, so we will try again !

Sometimes the results you get are not what your eye expects to see. I was expecting to see a number at least close to 1,000 with the pedometer, but didn't. Yet I know that I did more to be mobile than the day before. When I went to make dinner, I was expecting to have a dish with a pretty outcome, but did not get  one. I made a quiche with a crust, which is basically a pie , and for me that means mini disaster. Pies are not my longsuit at all ! I struggle to get the crust rolled properly , only to be unable to serve a piece in a way that looks pretty. It frustrates me, so I usually skip pie making if at all possible.  Yesterday was the first of three Ember Days ( an ancient custom that is sort of a mini thanksgiving for the season and a rent collection day for rural communities) , and by tradition it is a day of fasting  ( meatless). I discovered this recipe thsat involved a whole wheat, no roll crust, and I was inspired to take a chance.

As you can see, the presentation was not good, but the taste definitely was !    

Crab and Kale Quiche

    1 Single “no-roll” whole wheat crust
    3 Tbl. Butter
    2 cloves Garlic
    1/2 Cup chopped Sweet Onion
    1bunch kale, chopped
    1 Cup cubed Swiss Cheese
    1 – 1 1/2 Cups Crabmeat ( moc crab in my case due to an allergy)
    3 Eggs
    1 Cup Whole Milk Plain Yogurt
    1/2 Cup Milk
    1/2 Tbl. dried Parsley
    1/4 tsp. ground Celery Seed
    Sea Salt & Pepper
    Paprika

    Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare your pie crust pastry dough, and press into a sturdy 9in pie pan. Bake 20 min. Let cool slightly before adding quiche filling.

    Meanwhile, melt butter in a pan, and gently saute garlic and chopped onions, adding in the fresh kale  when almost done. Season with salt and pepper.
    Beat eggs, yogurt, and milk together, adding in the celery seed powder and salt & pepper. Add crab, kale mixture  and swiss cheese to the pie crust (in that order), and pour egg mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle with a light dusting of paprika. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F, and bake for 23-30 min, until quiche is set. Serve warm or cold.

Crust:
1/4 cup Butter, softened
1/4 cup Coconut Oil, melted
1  1/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 tsp salt
Water     

Process in a food processor  and press into a pie pan

I think next time I make this I will do it as individual quiches or chill it before serving. It may have slid, but it was very tasty. As to real men not eating quiche ? Both of my real men wanted seconds.

Nutrition is a powerful thing and remebering the rest of my life.

It was a very cool, rainy day here yesterday. The temps did not reach the 40's , so it was another day of hall walking and Wii. It was the kind of cool damp where you began to expect the rain to turn to snow, but it never did. While the weather was miserable, we were pretty bubbly and began the day with the following

Steel cut oats with pears, apple , blueberry and pumpkin seeds. Oats are always a good way to start a day ! After breakfast, we hit the halls for our first walk of the day and then jumped on the Wii to get in almost a full hour of exercise before hitting the schoolwork. I was feeling quite energized when we began , and then suddenly discovered that an unwanted visitor made an appearance- she seems to visit most adult women ever 28 to whatever days. This made my energy go from peppy to
However, there is no sick day for mom's , so press on ! We jumped into ( okay...energetically stepped into ...err, slid into) school, then another walk, and then a break for lunch. I was feeling more droopy as the morning wore on , and suddenly so ravenous that I could eat floor tiles if not bolted down. Our metabolism changes with that visitor ( for some complex reasons) , and the ravenous hunger you get is your body demanding different nutrients as fuel or the journey. Instead of simply diving into anything, I thought about what fuel my body was in the greatest need of, and whipped up a creation I call scrambled eggs with stuff
I took some shredded cabbage, red pepper, scallions, mushrooms and kale, sauteed them in water and then tossed on some Mrs Dash and egg beaters. The veggies made it incredibly bulky, and immediately following lunch I felt back to my perky self. Yay nutrition !

After school was finished and a third was was taken I started looking or school materials , and stumbled onto two documents that many of you may be interested in about personal fitness action plans. First one is called Fitting fitness in ( click on the link to follow) and another called
Minimalist fitness- how to get in shape with little or no equipment .Both have some really handy tips about routines and exercise that can be done anywhere with little or no equipment. We are going to add many of these to our own daily routines.

Dinner was wholewheat pasta with roast vegetables ( zucchini, eggplant, butternut squash,broccoli, red peppers, asparagus) and chicken legs with mango glaze ( actually 100 percent mango papaya fruit spread that I found at our market with some garlic powder added).
The evening found me in a conversation with my middle sister about my mother. Mom has Dementa and Parkinsons Disease, and my middle sister is her caregiver. Lately mom has taken a turn for the worse and has begun to be physically violent with my sister whenever it is time to change her clothes or get her in the shower. Mom is fully incontinent, so changes happen often every day. Mom thinks that my sister means her harm and starts trying to defend herself, picking up anything nearby and beating on my sister with it as she struggles to change her clothes. Mom only responds to her, and it seems that it is time to look into a care facility for mom. She is only going to get worse, and if she progresses like most patients with this disease, she is going to begin to experience swallowing problems and more in a short time. My sister is feeling very guilt ridden about this, so I am trying to get her to see that this move is to be thought of more as the best care for her needs instead of failure or abandonment. Not going to be an easy argument. However, it does serve as a powerful personal reminder that no matter what the scale or clothing sizes or tape measurements say, your life is defined by a lot more than just these things. I am someones mom, daughter, wife, friend, sister, lover, counselor, Reiki worker, teacher,fiber artist, Blogger and a whole lot more. While the numbers on the scale may prove to be an indicator of how physically fit we may or not be for these challenges and roles, it does not define our abilities to preform them or even who we are. That lies with something much deeper, more far reaching and of greater concern to many. It is true for me, and every other person on a weight loss journey. We are not single faceted, one dementional beings, and it is important to keep that in mind. Life happens while you are busy executing plans based on your perception of your impact on the world.

I was an expert parent , and then I had a baby

18 years ago this morning , as I lay in a labor room instructing my OB and his side kick surgeon on exactly how I wished for my C Section incision to be done, I thought I knew what it was going to be like being a mom. I was never going to say most of the things my parents said- gems like "when you are living in your own home you can do ..... but not while you are under my roof" and "because I said so" and a million other things. I was going to be a hip, cool mom who put her son in preschool and then spent the next 14 or so years as a room mother, teachers assistant and so forth.I was going to nurse my son for the first year of life exclusively, then feed him only home made baby food and I would never, ever, EVER have an overweight child.

Then my son was born and the moment he entered the world, everything changed. The world had grown by 2 feet, 11 lbs 14 oz and 23 1/2 inches. My heart grew bigger than I could ever imagined and now seemed to be living outside of my body in a complex little package that was going to challenge everything I knew about virtually everything. In many ways I had given birth to my greatest teacher of all, who had a bag of lessons I had only head whispered about , and inaccurately so. It was indeed a red letter day.

And like any red letter day, it requires celebration. House rules are that when it is your birthday you can pick the meal and activity of your choice, so later today we will be eating some celebratory food and handing out gifts. One odd gift I will be giving is his collection of baby teeth. I saved every one of them with the intention of giving them to him on his 18th birthday. I never imagined how fast that day would come. I don't think anyone realizes when that day is out our windshelid. You blink , and then it is suddenly in your rear view mirror.

Meanwhile, yesterday was spent shopping , chopping, prepping and ...didn't I just finish these kind of tasks ????

Breakfast was fruity oatmeal- rolled oats cooked with pear, apple and blueberries.A morning of assorted household tasks and then off to the stores to shop. By lunchtime we were at our produce store and broke for lunch. I spotted an offering that made me feel nostalgic , and I decided that I would take a stroll down food memory lane with

a pepper and egg sandwich ! I grew up in Chicago and it's inner suburbs , and there were a billion corner hot dog stands. Every year during Lent on Fridays ( and some throughout the year) , all stands would offer pepper and egg sandwiches. It's simply scrambled eggs and sweet peppers served on a roll, but it is really good. Eggs are not the villains that they were wrongly painted to be a few years back. Eggs are a good source of protein, inexpensive and a lot less fat than a sausage sandwich, beef sandwich, burger or so on. There is little chance of running into chemical additives and so forth with an egg. It pretty much comes out of the chicken, is inspected to insure it is infertile and then sent to your market. It struck me as interesting that this was possibly the most unhealthy thing I have eaten in the last 6 weeks. The white bread roll and incredibly sparse vegetables made it unhealthy, but a lot better than some of the possible choices.

After an afternoon of chopping ( how many calories are burned from 4 hours of solid chopping ???) we had our current favorite Saturday Night meal. Roast veggie pizza on a high fiber tortilla ( roast broccoli, red pepper, mushrooms and onions at 350 for 30 minutes and then place on a high fiber tortilla with tomato sauce and a quarter cup mozzarella cheese and bake at 400 for 7 minutes or till the cheese melts). On the side was a salad of romaine and watercress with fresh pineapple cubes, sliced strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. Fruit salad on greens is DEE-liscious !

And thus begins Holy Week. While I am not christian, Bob is and a church music minister. Holy Week is high drama, complex music, extra rehearsals and a lot of frazzled nerves. He is taking some vacation time to cope with the onslaught and I have tried to plan nutrient rich foods to help fuel him through this. We also have plans for some get you to sweat activity to help in the process. May it be a good one for all !