Brain and bone cells are dying- send fat !

We live in an age of information. Within minutes of an event, we hear about it. If anyone , anywhere experiences something that someone might perceive as an injustice on some level, minutes later someone will raise a grassroots awareness campaign that allows people to know about the thing- but does absolutely noting to remedy the situation or help the victim. And then there is health information. Like much of the "scare stories" out there, they are based on someone's observation of something , and almost always that someone missed or failed to notice a large part of the facts and acted on the small part they observed only.

Back in the 1940's, there was a young scientist who collected data and observed that (mice running into a door and) eating high fat diets were dying early. Therefore, fat ( not the door) was evil and should be removed from the diet.( not literally, but his findings were based on such observational information). Thus began the low fat insanity. Doors however were completely innocent. This observational study then led to the concept that dietary cholesterol was also evil, sugar was good because it is fat free, Statins as a wonder drug and a lot of other nonsense. By 1980, with the full inclusion of Ansel Keys bad observations, heart disease took a sharp upswing, aerobics was in fashion( calories in , calories out /cardio is necessary myth), diabetes was on the upswing , ADD/ADHD rates exploded and suddenly a lot of Autistic children were entering the world. Coincidence ?

NOT in the least. The human body requires fat for the absorption of several fat soluble vitamins amongst other things. If you eat a low fat diet and eat foods high in these vitamins or take supplements, you are not nourishing your body. You are creating super urine and nothing else.What are the fat soluble vitamins you ask ? Vitamins A,D,E and K. Vitamin D has been talked about a lot these days. Years back it was known to be nesisary for bone development and health, but recent research has shown it to be important in the prevention of colon diseases including cancer,autoimmune diseases like Arthritis, Fybro and Diabetes ( yes, diabetes is an autoimmune disease) and hypertension. You need FAT to be able to absorb this nutrient. Vitamin K is produced in the intestines with proper bacteria ( eat Splenda and other artificial sweeteners including Stevia  and you will destroy this one) that is important in the function of blood clotting. It enters into the bloodstream with FAT.( notice a trend here ??) Vitamin A  aids in reproduction and the transmission of DNA ,helps your eyes and mouth to stay moist,allows  your eyes adjust to sunlight and more ( skip the fat boys and we can make a killing on Transitions lenses and Restasis drops !!!) Once again , your body needs FAT to absorb this nutrient.

Traditional cooking methods and those "grandma cooking" type recipes often included fat with those foodstuffs that were high in the fat solubles.Broccoli with cheese, Greens and Fatback, wilted spinach with bacon fat dressing and so forth. Not because Grandma had some secret key to the nutrition kingdom, but she understood and respected the most powerful key we have. Taste! Fat simply tastes good. We, as humans, were given taste buds and appetite for a reason- it naturally leads us to those things our body needs. Not a modern taste bud that has been so assaulted with  chemicals passed off for food for so long that it no longer knows what an actual carrot is, but one that eats actual food. When we kick the chemicals out of our diets , our tastebuds and appetites return to a normal state and we begin craving real food.

Here is one dish that features two foods high in vitamin A. Combined they make for 100% of your rda vitamin A and the fat used helps your body to actually absorb it.

Conchiglie con Spinach Pommedoro

1 lb medium Conchiglie ( shells)
salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter( no substitute)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion - minced
1 clove garlic - minced
2 cups fresh spinach
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes - halved

 Place a large pot of generously salted water on to boil. While boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.  Into a medium saute pan add butter or oil. Cook over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until softened. Add spinach and tomatoes and cook just until spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper
Add drained pasta to saute pan. Toss to combine.

The lies Popeye spread

Back in the day ( the day incidentally is any time frame of the past that you neglect to attach a specific date to out of forgetfulness or desire to distance yourself from the fact that you might be older than dirt) mom's wanted kids to be strong. Perhaps it was so they could involve them in a great number of household chores like cleaning out the basement, mowing the lawn or milking goats who would eat the lawn. Then again it might have been the desire to have children strong enough to grab onto tree limbs and not be blown away when the strong winds blew. Strong winds must have presented quite a danger because most "peasant foods" of the past seemed to be designed to add ballast to the body, as if it needed an aid to stay put through sustained high winds. Peasant food today is a whole different thing. No one was ever given strength and ballast through ramen or blue box mac and cheese. Just cardiac problems and a waist size that will make it unlikely to pass through most doors..

Being strong was so important in the past that the youth of America was exposed to propaganda by this guy

His bulging biceps saved the day time and again, and they were obtained by the copious consumption of spinach. Caned spinach. That green, slimy substance of childhood horror. Often times it was put on the plate, stared at, pushed around with the fork and finally consumption was encouraged with a promise that it would make us strong like the a fore mentioned sailor. What mothers didn't know was that 1. there were better ways to serve spinach and 2. strength was not the only thing gained through eating spinach. Turns out that spinach is a powerful aid in fighting off inflammation, the mortal enemy of the body. Inflammation is a crippling factor with things like Arthritis, but it is also a major factor in heart disease. Compounds in spinach help us to fight off the inflammation response as well as increase our levels of protection against cancers of the Prostate, Ovaries, Lungs and more. It indeed makes us strong, but not in the way mother suggested.

One of the nicest ways to eat spinach is in salad form. Many a recipe has gone around for Wilted Spinach salad featuring a sweet sour dressing with bacon fat. Good eats, but I admit a degree of laziness with salads- I want them now when I want them, and the ingredients have to be low prep time.I like to make a spinach/sliced strawberry salad, but I LOVE to combine spinach with fresh blueberries !

wash, toss together and dress. This year I have determined that I will not buy ready made dressings again because of their factory fats and dubious ingredients ( aka natural flavorings), so this salad was the perfect time to make a yummy dressing from scratch. If sweet and sour dressing combos work on these salads, then similar items in that flavor pallet would work as well. Here is what I used

Maple Balsamic Vinegrette

1/2 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup REAL maple syrup( anything less is simply high fructose corn syrup and more sugars with flavoring)
2 t Dijon type mustard
1 c high quality extra virgin olive oil ( I prefer Sicillian olives for their flavor)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and whisk till slightly thickened (emulsified)

This dressing will be thinner than bottled varieties, but guess what ? Dressing is supposed to be a light shower on the salad and not an electric blanket. Dressing is meant to enhance the flavors of the salad-not disguise them so you can pass off disliked ingredients to the unsuspecting.It's a vinaigrette - not hot fudge after all !

To make the dressing took all of 5 minutes out of my life, and most of that time was devoted to gathering ingredients. The taste was better than any bottled stuff. And perhaps it was because of all of the cans of spinach consumed in the past with my mother's wishes for a strong child, but the whisking didn't hurt my arms a bit !

Spinach Sunday

Sunday turned into a very restful day - a nice thing after the shop and chop. I was able to catch up on some of my studies and hear some very enjoyable music. Great ways to refresh the inner me !

The guys left very early for two singing commitments and decided they would grab breakfast on the road between them. It was more of a lure to help Nick adjust to the idea of singing two services than a nessesity, so it left me to fly solo. I grabbed a serving of the coconut salad, topped it with pumpkin seeds . I added a cup of coffee and I was ready to go !

After a morning of singing and studying, the guys came back for lunch. The first of the spinach meals of the day- Popeye would be proud !

Lentil sweet potato salad
(originally found at Kath eats real food)

1/2 cup green lentils -- rinsed
2 small or 1 large sweet potato
1/4 cup walnuts
5 dates
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 Pinches kosher salt + ground pepper
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Baby Spinach to serve

Cook lentils in a pot until tender using a 4:1 water to lentils ratio.
Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes on low.
Meanwhile, dice sweet potato, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with
cinnamon, salt and pepper, and bake cubes at 400* for about 30 minutes.
Chop dates and toast walnuts in the microwave (1 minute on high) or in a
dry skillet.When lentils and potato are done, toss everything together
and serve over chopped baby spinach.

We have all learned that spinach is good for you, but did you know the real reason this is so ? It's not the iron, but the flavinoid compounds that help to protect against so many diseases. Spinach helps to protect against stomach, prostate and ovarian cancer, supports cardiovascular and bone health, improves mental function, eyesight and more. It is low in calories, high in flavor and just plain does your body good. That is my excuse for inadvertently planing two spinach meals in one day ! ( and doing this is proof that lately I need all the spinach I can get !)

Italian Sausage Soup (crock pot)

1 lb Sausage -- cut into pieces
4 cups hot chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 clove garlic -- minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup whole wheat mini pasta shells
1 box frozen chopped spinach
Grated Parmesan cheese

Combine broth,tomato paste, garlic and red pepper flakes in 4 1/2-quart
CROCK-POT® slow cooker.Add sausage slices. Cover -- cook on LOW 5 to 6
hours. Thirty minutes before serving add pasta and spinach
Ladle into bowls -- sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

This one may be the best crock pot recipe I have ! It is the kind that I would plan to use even if I did not need to use the crock pot for convenience. When we must be out or run a late afternoon errand I plan a crock pot meal - and a good one- because if you know that dinner is waiting all ready for you at home , you will not fall into fast food temptation.That can save money AND your health in the long run.

It's going to be a very interesting week here. One of the eight festivals of my spiritual path happens this weekend, and there is a kind of tension in the air that is making me antsy. I don't think it is any different than for those who walk a Christian path as they approach Christmas. The excitement, the preparation, and the general spiritual awareness that something big is about to happen makes for a tense but happy time. Same is true for me now, but that tension is coming from the very earth itself. I just have to remember to breath and remind myself that my observations may not be based in the reality of the situation. My family means me no harm....my family means me no harm....

Earth Day and Liver

Happy day after Earth Day - or as my son kept calling it Green Day. I think the green logos and the said named band got twisted in his head and it made for some funny moments.

We began the day with something I called Fruits of the Forest Oatmeal. Why the name ? Because I got tired of saying oatmeal with berries, pears and apples. Fruits of the Forest sounds so much more interesting, don't you think ? Great oatmeal dishes deserve fun PR !

I had originally planned on certain lessons and activities for the day, but Nick was so excited that it was Green Day that I abandoned those plans and decided to turn a lot of earth day programs and activities into our lessons. It's one of the beauties of homeschooling- the ability to change plans and strike when and where the iron is hot. One of the things we caught was a program called Life after Oil- which dealt with a scenario of life once the globe's oil supplies run out ( something the Peak Oil people are predicting to happen in the next 20 years). He was pretty cool with the idea of no cars until he saw this meant no shipment of foodstuffs and forced rationing. That scared and greatly upset him, until I explained that it simply meant people would have to do things in a different way and that there is indeed food all around you , outside your front door. This became a biology lesson where we grabbed the field guides, headed out the door an found food in our back yard. Dandelion leaves wrapped around orange sections are absolutely delicious - if you make sure you are picking dandelion greens from a non sprayed source and carefully was them before eating. These and several other foodstuffs are growing right out your door, at your feet. Nick was impressed and reassured that life would go on - an important belief for any human being !

Eventually it was lunchtime and I decided to make something I saw on Marissa's blog , but with some different ingredients. Lithuanian rye bread ( love love love !) with red pepper hummus, baby spinach , sliced avocado and cucumber slices. I paired it with some baked pita chips and veggies- it was really tasty ! I think I am ready to classify hummus as one of my favorite foods in the world .

WARNING
The following meal may cause memories of childhood trauma, responses of EEWWWW and other such side affects.

With that said, I present to you last night's dinner- Healthy Saute'd Liver and onions with Vinegar and Honey Glazed Brussels Sprouts, Couscous salad and a green salad with cranberries and walnuts

Healthy Sauteed Liver and Onions

1 medium red onion
3 TBS low-sodium chicken broth
3 TBS low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 lb calf's liver -- sliced thin (1/4-inch)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic -- chopped or pressed
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice the onion. Chop or press the garlic.
Turn stove to medium. Heat 3 TBS low-sodium chicken broth in a stainless
steel skillet.When the broth begins to steam, add onions, cover and
Healthy Sauté for 4 minutes.When the onions have lost most of their water
content and have become dry, push them to the side of the skillet,
leaving space in the center.Heat the second 3 TBS broth in the center of
the skillet, leaving the heat on medium.When the broth begins to steam,
add the sliced liver and Healthy Sauté uncovered for 3 minutes.
The pieces will be browned on one side, and the liver will release
liquid.
Turn the liver pieces over and brown the other side for 3 minutes. When the liquid has evaporated, the
liver is done.Remove the pan from the heat and drizzle the liver and
onions with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil,
and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste.Transfer to a serving plate and
serve immediately.


Vinegar and Honey Glazed Brussels Sprouts

1 pound Brussels sprouts
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Trim the ends off Brussels sprouts and halve. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
In a small saucepan, combine vinegars and honey. Bring to a boil over
medium heat and cook, stirring often, until mixture is reduced to ¼ cup.
Toss vinegar and honey mixture with sprouts, and spread on prepared
baking sheet.Bake for 25 minutes.Makes 4 servings

Confession- as a child , one of my favorite meals was Liver and Onions, and we ate it once a week because liver was cheap, high in protein and good for you. My mom would coat it in flour and spices, pan fry it quickly , and it was one of the most tender, tasty things she made. I ate a lot of organ meats as a kid- at that time they were considered to be healthy. Then came the late 70's and a really bad study on cholesterol led people to believe that eating eggs, liver and so many other foods would lead to heart attacks. Finally, the truth is coming out . These foods will not raise your cholesterol and are actually good for you. Did you know that liver contains compounds that help to actually prevent a heart attack ? It's true. The danger form eating liver too often comes from it's incredibly high level of Vitamin A, and certain health conditions make it hard for the body to process the level. Liver supplies 29 grams protein,36 percent of the RDA for iron and 634 percent of RDA for Vitamin A.162 percent DV of riboflavin, 72 percent DV of pantothenic acid, 72 percent DV of folate, 66 percent DV of niacin, and 54 percent DV of
vitamin B6. It does a body good !

Godzilla veggie laszgna

For all of those of you who do not cook , or are afraid to cook for fear of messing up, today's post will make you feel good and hopefully give you courage to try anything . I am going to share with you an important fact- that is those of us who do cook, always have those dishes that are a complete fail. I had one yesterday, complete with pictures of the process ! It's something I will call Godzilla Veggie Lasagna

Godzilla Veggie lasagna - makes 6 generous servings

1 box oven ready lasagna noodles
1 cup ricotta cheese( small container)
1 bag low fat shredded mozzarella
1 jar marinara sauce of your choice
1 container red pepper hummus
1 eggplant
2 cups fresh spinach
1 zucchini
2 shallots
1 red pepper
3 Mexican orange peppers( or any other kind of bell pepper you can get your hands on)
2 carrots

Get a 9x13 cake pan. Spread about a third of a cup of sauce on the bottom of the pan and place a layer of the no boil noodles.Top noodles with half of the hummus, half of the ricotta and then begin layering veggies.

Look quizzically at the pan and wonder how you will fit everything in beyond one big layer.

Question physics as you dump the entire bag of cheese in the pan, then add the remaining ricotta and hummus. Place remaining veggies on top , a layer of noodles and then the remaining sauce.


Invent an aluminum foil girdle type device for the pan , praing that the contents will not leak out. Place pan on a cookie sheet, and place in a 375 degree oven for 1 1/2 hrs, because you are not certain that there will be enough liquid from the veggies to steam the noodles . Serve to family with great optomisim

The verdict ? Veggies were still crunchy. Next time either blanch the veggies before assembly OR find a way to cook this baby in the crock pot. The no boil noodles were a little tough as well, so back to the drawing board. I served it with an AWESOME salad, who's recipe comes originally from Sweet Tomatoes, but I changed a few things to make it closer to my own nutritional standards. I am going to try this again with a healthier substitute for the lemonaid concentrate

Summer Lemon with Spiced Pecans Tossed Salad

Dressing- Yields 5 cups
3 cups Mayonnaise- whole egg
2 cups Lemonade Concentrate
2 ½ TBLS Dijon Mustard
Combine ingredients and whisk until smooth.
( this dressing has an AMAZING lemon flavor and a little goes a long way !)

Spiced Pecans
1 ¼ cups ¼” Diced Pecans
1 c water
2 TBLS White Sugar
¾ tsp Ground Cumin
½ tsp Table Salt
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Pour water in a small sauce pan. Add sugar, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper. Heat until bubbling and sugar dissolves. Immediately add pecans and stir to coat. Spread pecans on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until brown and toasted. Store remaining nuts in a jar- try not to mindlessly snack on these !

Salad
place Chopped Romaine and watercress blend in bowl. Add dried crasins, spiced pecans and toss with lemon dressing.

Exercise wise it was a great day. For some reason I am really falling in love with wall squats. They feel amazing on my back . Weird !

Salad Days

Life takes it's toll on all the things around you, and one day you wake up to discover you need to replace office chairs, breakfast bowls ( because someone dropped them) and more. If it's a good day you also learn that yon need to buy more dental floss, new underwear ( because it is falling off) and other fancy stuff. When the going gets tough...the tough go shopping ! Which is exactly what we did after a morning of church services. But first, time to fuel the troops for the day

Breakfast was Overnight Oats with fresh fruit. To make the oats for 3 people, at bedtime bring 4 cups of water and 1 T raisins( or other dried fruit) to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 c steel cut oats and cover. In the morning , add a little water if it is too thick, and heat for about 5 minutes on a medium heat. Top with your choice - here it was 3/4 cup of homemade chopped fruit salad( no dressing because it does not need it)
When the guys got home from church , we had lunch before heading out. Sweet potato lentil spinach salad- my favorite !

Lentil sweet potato salad

1/2 cup green lentils -- rinsed
2 small or 1 large sweet potato
1/4 cup walnuts
5 dates
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 Pinches kosher salt + ground pepper
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Spinach to serve

Cook lentils in a pot until tender using a 4:1 water to lentils ratio. Bring to boil, reduce to
simmer and cook for about 30 minutes on low.Meanwhile, dice sweet potato, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with cinnamon, salt and pepper, and bake cubes at 400* for about 30 minutes.Chop dates and toast walnuts in the microwave (1 minute on high) or in a dry skillet.
When lentils and potato are done, toss everything together and serve over chopped baby spinach.

Then off to do some power shopping for things needed and things we remembered we needed once wandering around the stores. It was all fun till someone lost an eye ...err we hit the checkout line.I think price tags mate while in your cart and suddenly produce a creature that makes you cringe at the size !

Dinner was , oddly enough, another salad. I had originally planned on making a veggie lasagna, but when we had to spend the afternoon shopping I opted for something quicker- Very Veggie salad and Peanut Noodles

Very Veggie Salad

10 cups mixed greens or baby salad greens
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes ( or 2 plum tomatoes, chopped)
1 avocado -- cubed
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 red bell pepper -- thinly sliced
1 cup cooked lentils
2 medium carrots -- grated
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
dressing of choice

Distribute greens, vegetables (except carrots), and lentils on dinner plates. Then distribute
grated carrots. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and pour dressing over salads.


Peanut Noodles

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar -- or 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup natural peanut butter

Boil water for noodles and cook according to package directions.
Meanwhile, peel and coarsely chop the garlic. In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, oils,vinegar, soy sauce, peanut butter, and optional red pepper flakes. Process until smooth, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.Drain pasta and toss with peanut sauce.

After dinner and putting things away , we settled in for an evening of great TV ( Ruby, season 4 of The Tudors, Kirstie Ally, Big Life) and felt like something to munch on. This made a really good dessert

Plain nonfat yogurt with frozen blueberries and 1/3 cup granola. It gives the mouth feel and sweetness of ice cream , but a lot less fat , sugar and such. Any fruit would work in it's place, but the frozen fruit makes it the same chill as ice cream.

Other than walking around the store , it was a bust exercise wise. That is okay because we are all allowed rest days and life needs to carry on while we are trying to reshape it. I think it works better to be concerned about getting in exercise the 5 days of the work week than to save it all up for the weekend. Less risk of injury and all that jazz. Let's make it a great week !

Evil moms love new kinds of peppers and use peanut butter in different ways

Yesterday was the first full day back to normal. and it can best be summed up by walk, school, walk, more school. exercise with Wii, more school and walk. Peppered by numerous reminders to put your glasses on, showing how to clean them, reminders to wear them so you look through the lenses and not over them- all the things any person who wore glasses as a kid had to be told for a million times when they first started wearing them. The make a HUGE improvement in his reading skills , so the rule is we enforce wearing glasses when he is reading , on the computer or playing video games, but it is his choice for TV watching, exercising, outside play and so on. My logic with this one is it may also make him a little more eager to exercise. Ah, being an evil mom is fun !!!!

Breakfast was quinoa cooked with dried cranberries and topped with the last of the tropical fruit and strawberry mix. For some reason, I am really liking the taste of papaya with quinoa. Papaya is a less sweet fruit and something about it's flavor complements the nutty sort of taste of quinoa for me. Must experiment with that combo further

Lunch was 15 bean soup with garlic hummus and veggies. One of the selections was Mexican Sweet Orange Peppers. These taste a little sweeter than red bell peppers and have a bit more of a crunchier texture. They were sold in a bag of about 20 peppers in our market. Several of the newer varieties of sweet bell peppers make a really nice addition to raw veggie options, as well as working perfectly in any recipe that calls for bell peppers.

Dinner was two favorites combined for the first time , and they hit it of rather well. Golden Sweet Potato saute with Peanut Noodles and a side salad of romaine, watercress, apples and pears.

Golden Spinach and Sweet Potato Sauté

1 medium onion -- chopped
4 medium cloves garlic -- minced
1 cup + 1 TBS chicken or vegetable broth
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp coriander
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp cardamom
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 cups sweet potatoes -- peeled and cubed
6 oz frozen spinach -- thawed
2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro

Chop onions and mince garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health-promoting
benefits.Heat 1 TBS broth in a large stainless steel skillet. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute. Add seasonings and lemon juice and stir to mix thoroughly. Add broth and sweet potatoes. Simmer covered over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover to allow sauce to thicken and cook another couple minutes.
Press water out of spinach and add to sweet potatoes. Cook uncovered for a few more minutes to
allow sauce to thicken. Add cilantro, salt, and pepper.
Serves 4

Peanut Noodles

1/2 lb whole wheat spaghetti
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar -- or 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup natural peanut butter

Boil water for noodles and cook according to package directions.
Meanwhile, peel and coarsely chop the garlic. In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic,
oils, vinegar, soy sauce, peanut butter, and optional red pepper flakes. Process until smooth, and
then season to taste with salt and pepper.Drain pasta and toss with peanut sauce. ( can be served with mandarin orange sections and or cilantro if desired)

Rainy morning here, and my priorities this day are cleaning the house, planning next weeks menu, school and probably more indoor hall walking. It's lower on the list today because the other things are must do and I can afford to take a rest day.It's all about balance in the end .

Good Friday and weigh in

Yesterday was Good Friday- a day devoted pretty much to religious observance by Bob and Nick. Bob had a sacred concert, dinner appointment and then evening Mass, Nick got completely engrossed in the coverage on EWTN of all of the observances and I wound up having to watch with him and explain various gestures and symbols. Other than a walk in the morning and playing some Walk it out , the day was very much a slug day.


Breakfast was Hot Crossed Oatmeal ! Hot Crossed Buns are a traditional Good Friday Dish that is very tasty but not of the greatest nutritional value. Instead of these fruity buns I made oatmeal with apple, pear, dates and topped it with a cross made of coconut. It was good.

Lunch began a quest to use up the veggies that we had bought for the week , failed to eat because of two lunches at Sweet Tomatoes, and could bot be frozen. It was also going to be our big meal together for the day , so I made wholewheat pasta with kale and topped it with ricotta lentil balls ( from the freezer) with marinara sauce. On the side was a salad of romaine, watercress, avocado and temple oranges. Good and FILLING !


Last night I saw had a mountain of green produce in the fridge that I hated the thought of tossing, so I made a batch of Green Monster soup. Pureed soup will freeze very well- fresh greens will not. I cut up 1 large sweet potato, 4 small yukon gold potatoes, a head of broccoli, a bunch of fresh spinach , 3 leeks and 8 cups of chicken stock and put it in the crockpot till all the veggies were tender, and then I pureed it with the immersion blender. Yummy ! Because of the chicken stock it is not meatless, so Bob could not eat this yesterday, but Nick and I certainly could. I served it with grilled cheese and tomato English muffins topped with basil and carrot/celery sticks. Green Monster soup is pretty darned good !

Weigh in this morning- I lost 1.4 lbs for the week. The guys both gained 2 lbs for some reason. This too shall pass.

Did you happen to catch the end of The Biggest Loser last night ? They had a man who lost over 400 lbs on his own at home, and he did it through diet and walking. I think he is my new hero- proof that you DO NOT have to join a gym, run, buy a lot of equipment or join exercise classes to get results. Simple walking will indeed get the job done. It did for me when I lost 110 pounds in the past , and it gives me renewed hope that it will work again ! Walking made up a lot of our day yesterday , and when not walking we would take out time to play Walk it Out for the Wii with the brilliant decision to place the nunchuck in our socks, sit in the chair and swing your feet to the beat instead of walking and potentially annoying the neighbors. Sort of an air walking fidget if you will that was a heck of a lot of fun.

These things helped me to discover one very important motivational saying that I have repeated to myself my entire life when faced with a challenge- it's easy to make lemonade out of lemons, but a sign of genius to turn them into gold. Anyone can do anything with the perfect environment and equipment , but many times in life the only thing you have is a desire and your wits. If you stop focusing on what you do not have and concentrating on what you have in hand, you can pretty much do anything. Where would we be without people like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell - both of whom are men who wanted to accomplish something important and according to the voices around them could not do it. They took what they had and what they knew , used it to the best advantage and created something that changed the world.I see that kind of thinking involved with both my weight loss journey and overall life dilemma. Instead of pondering all those things I cannot do and all the restrictions, the only thing I can do is use what I have in my hand and make every possible moment count. Perhaps if the economic climate continues and less and less two car/two income households begin who have less and less ability to take children to numerous activities and events, people like my son , who has lived it, will be needed to show people how exactly to make fun and memories without external things. Perhaps.

Eats of the day were some goodies !

Breakfast was apple raisin oats with pumpkin seeds. I grabbed a pack of salted ones by mistake at the store, so I am stuck with them till we use them up. The salty and sweet does make for a good combo tastewise though !

Lunch was a mug of the current batch of 15 bean soup with veggies and hummus. My son seems to inhale this, lentil and minestrone soup. It makes me giggle- before we started this journey he absolutely hated soup, or an foods that contained multiple tastes and textures.

15 bean soup

1 bag 15 bean soup mix
1 lb pork product ( ham, sausage, ham hock, ham bone- highly flavored chicken sausage works as well)
4 cups chicken stock
2 cans diced tomatoes
3 carrots, sliced
3 onions, chopped

Wash beans and soak overnight ( I put mine in my crockpot overnight covered with water on low)Drain the beans and place with all other ingredients in a crock pot , cook on high for 4 hours

Dinner was something that has become a new favorite- Creole chicken with spinach and rice. This time I made it with rainbow chard instead of spinach because it was so good looking in the market on Saturday and on sale . Chard and Spinach are interchangeable in recipes, but because chard has a lower oxalate acid count, it has a slightly more mild taste. I used chard also because i had a craving for a spinach strawberry salad, which came along for the ride. So many greens....

Creole Chicken with Spinach and Rice

1 cup brown rice -- uncooked
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
olive oil (small amount)
3 chicken legs and thighs
1 1/2 cups chopped organic celery
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes -- (no salt)
10 ounces spinach or chard
1 cup chili sauce (low salt) or salsa
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 large green pepper -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Cook brown rice according to package directions, adding chili powder to cooking water.
Using a paper towelmoistened with olive oil, lightly coat a deep nonstick skillet and heat. Cook thin strips of chicken on medium high, turning occasionally, for 3-5 minutes until no longer pink.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer covered for
10 minutes. Serve over seasoned brown rice. Serves 4.

Be careful what you wish for 'cause you just might get it

When I was pregnant , I had fond hopes and wishes for my son. I wanted him to be intelligent, compassionate, law abbiding and able to stick up for himself. Yesterday I realized I had gotten my wish- and wanted to kick myself. Then later in the day I began to think that perhaps I should nudge my son into considering a career in law...

The day began with Birthday wishes and overnight steel cut oats. In today's mix took 4 cups of water, 3 chopped madgool dates , 2 T of dried tropical fruit mix and brought it to a boil. Then I turned off the heat, added 1 cup of steel cut oats, put a lid on it and went to bed. In the morning I put it back on the heat, added a little more water because it had swelled so much and cooked it about 5 minutes. The I topped it with blueberries- quick , healthy breakfast for 3 ! A nice start to the day.


And then, the trouble started. Bad news on the doorstep, in the form of the Sunday Paper with coupon inserts. Nick LOVES to read the paper and he pays very close attention to those things that he has learned to be important - like the sales fliers and coupon inserts. He also loves the Arts and Entertainment section, the book section and home and garden. Good things. Nick is a high functioning autistic who has some behaviors that make you think of the movie Rain Man (KMart has underwear 3 for 5), and can drive you nuts. He also memorizes things like our house rues, everybody;s favorite everything,and more. Thus was the makings of "The Perfect bad food storm". House rule 1 is that when it is your birthday, you get to pick the eats. House rule 2 is unless there is an allergy involved, no substitutions. House rule 3- use a coupon whenever possible. So when it is your birthday and the paper offers coupons for Steak and Shake and you repeat this fact to your mom 9 billion times in an hour and remind her of how much she likes their portabello burgers between those repetitions, it becomes something like Chinese Water Torture. I finally asked him if he was trying to say he wanted to go to Steak and Shake for his birthday lunch and he said yes. Nick still has problems discerning between being asked if he wanted something and being told we are doing something, so we try not to mention anything he fixates on unless we are prepared to offer it. I forgot because I was being pecked to death by a duck, so to Steak and Shake we would go. Bob got home, we told him of the change in plans and then he dropped the next bomb- his singing schedule for the month after Easter. 3 Saturdays and Sundays , which means once again we can do nothing on any weekend, go no where and weekends will be rushed. Extra bonus if there are any Saturday Morning Funerals, which there is no way to predict in advance. After 29 years of this, I am getting really , really tired. Yet, there is no way out of the situation. It is who he is, his vow of ordination means he will serve in what ever capacity he is called on for , and we need the money he makes from this. Also his plan for retirement ( coming in 10 years) is to go full time into doing wake, funerals and weddings in a multi denominational capacity , and he needs to build up contacts and connections now. Just means I have to think more outside of the box to figure out a way to make all this work. I will,but at the moment I felt like I had been beaten by a sledgehammer and I just did not care about food. Steak and Shake it is.

Afterwords we went for a walk in the park, and talked. Walking and talking really helps me to clear my head, and we were given a rare 20 minutes of peace while Nick decided to play in the playground. It kind of ended when he fell off the slide ( mass + gravity+slick pants = boy shoots off slide like a missile). It was really nice to walk in the sunshine and STIFF breeze though !

Dinner was right back on program for all. Nick requested crab cakes, macaroni and cheese and spinach salad for dinner . I made baked crab cakes for the guys ( Moc crab, lemon juice, yogert, horseradish, breadcrumbs , mustard and parsley , form into patties and bake at 350 for 15 minutes) and the following

Mandarin Spinach w/ Caramelized Walnut

Line 3 bowls with desired amount of baby spinach, add thin sliced red onion an 1 clementine orange to each. Top with caramelized walnuts and dressing ( recipe follows)

Caramelized Walnuts:
2 cups water
1 cup ¼” diced walnut pieces walnuts
3 Tablespoons splenda
Boil water. Add walnuts and cook for 40 seconds. Strain the walnuts. Combine walnuts and sugar in a bowl. Stir to coat. Place sugar covered walnuts on a sheet pan and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 8 – 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Dressing:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1 /2 cup splenda
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tsp Spanish paprika

Process in a blender till combined

And Macaroni with 4 cheese- a healthier version of an old favorite comfort food

Macaroni and 4 Cheeses

Cooking spray
1/2 pound small shaped whole wheat pasta
1 can solid pack pumpkin OR 1 pack frozen pureed squash
1 cup skim milk( or rice, soy or almond milk)
2 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar -- grated
1 ounce Monterrey Jack cheese -- grated
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 /2 teaspoon powdered mustard
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon unseasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender but firm, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
Meanwhile, place the pumpkin or frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the Cheddar, Jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish.
Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned

Dinner got thumbs up . Spring break begins for us today and my plan is to do a lot of exercise and figure out how to further refine our life !