Tuesday, June 29, 2010

I got behind

Hello everyone. It's been two weeks (tomorrow) and I am loving it. The only time I felt tempted was today when we went t WinCo today for the first time (really cheap) and I saw they sold Tillamok ice cream! Luckily they were out of my favorite flavor. Anyway, I don't remember a lot of the stuff we've eaten lately, other than the Baked Lemon Asparagus Risotto, Curry Yogurt Chicken, and Lemony-Almond Green Beans. I'll put those recipes later. And just know that I DID take pictures tonight, but now I can't find the cord to connect the camera to the computer. So, sorry. I did try.
We had a fun weekend though. On Friday we had a birthday party for Eli's dad. On Saturday I went swimming with my sisters and their kids. That was a lot of fun. I was really bummed when I realized that it was the end of June and that was my first time swimming. Working full time over the summer really sucks. Eli and I got a new calling in the ward. We get to be nursery workers together. We're really excited. We love nursery. We're getting all geared up for our trip to Disney Land with our friends Steve and Brooke. I am so excited. I've never been to Disney Land before, so I am really looking forward to it. Woohoo! It's going to be so much fun!

If you guys want to read a good book about health, you should read The Culprit and The Cure by Dr. Steven Aldana. It has more than anything scared the pants off of me about the statistics of lifestyle diseases in this country. I'll look up some scary facts and post it later. Anyway, let me put those recipes on here now.

Curry Yogurt Chicken:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2/3 c. plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt
1/4 c. light mayo
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tblsp. fresh minced ginger
Juice of one lemon
2 tblsp. curry powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne (optional)(I didn't use it and it was fine)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Place chicken in baking dish and season with salt and pepper.
In a med. bowl, combine yogurt, mayo, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, curry powder, and green onions. Pour over chicken and turn to coat chicken on all sides.
Bake uncovered in preheated oven until cooked thoroughly, about 25 minutes.
Serve over brown rice.

Lemony Green Beans with Almonds
1 lb. thing green beans, trimmed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 ground pepper
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tbls. olive oil
2 tblsp. slivered, toasted almonds

place beans in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle with 1 tblsp. of water. Cover with plastic wrap and cook in microwave on high for 3-5 minutes until beans are tender-crisp. Drain beans and return to bowl, toss with salt, pepper, juice, zest, and olive oil. Top with green beans.

Baked Asparagus and Lemon Risotto
1 1/2 c. aborio or carnaroli rice
1 tblsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ob. asparagus, cut int 1/2 in. peices
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. evaporated milk
juice and zest of one lemon
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c. chicken or veg. broth
6 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded

bring 5 c. water to a boil and add rice. Boil rice, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes, then drain thoroughly.
While rice is boiling, heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over med-high heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook, stirring about 3 min. or until onions are tender. Add asparagus, and cook, stirring, about 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs, then add evaporated milk, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper, and broth. Stir in drained rice and asparagus mixture until well combined
Spray a 9'' springform pan or cake pan with a removable bottom with olive oil spray or nonstick cooking spray. Wrap a sheet of aluminum foil around bottom to catch drips. Pour rice mixture into pan, smooth out into an even layer and top with cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top and cooked through.

I remembered another recipe I made over the weekend that was so delicious, but I don't have time to type it out now. I'll do it later, but it was beef stir-fry with sugar snap peas and it was so good. It tasted just like beef and broccoli, but better.
Well, that's about all. Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

A Delicious Tuesday and Wednesday

Okay, these recipes are very delicious. And I want to apologize in advance because I forgot to take pictures. I promise to tomorrow.

So yesterday I had:
breakfast: green smoothie
Lunch: leftover soup from the night before
Dinner: Brown rice risotto with broccoli (recipe to follow)

Eli came home today, I was so glad to see him. He had a really good time with his mom and grandma, got to see his sisters play, and got to shadow a doctor. It was a good trip for him. I'm just sad I couldn't go with him.

Okay, here is what we had today:
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover rice, hummus with carrots, and a juicy juicy plum
Dinner: Green Chile and Cheese Quesadillas and Zesty Black Bean Dip

These quesadillas were so so so so good! I was really so impressed. And, I just love the way this kind of food fills you up. I feel full, but not stuffed, and I don't get tired after I eat, like I always used to do. Here are the recipes for the rice, quesadillas, and dip:

Brown Rice Risotto:
(I used the electric pressure cooker, which cooks rice very quickly. If you don't have one, just modify it by adding time to make it cook on the stove top, or if you use a rice cooker, add the broccoli in a steamer basket, or straight into the rice, when there is about 5 minutes left. Then just stir in the cheese.)

1 c. brown rice
2 c. chicken broth, veggie broth, water, or a combination of each, just as long as you have 2 c. of liquid
As much broccoli as you want, I don't measure, just enough to have a piece of it with every other bite or so.
Some shredded Parmesan cheese.
a little bit of olive oil
1/2 tsp or so of salt
1. Put salt, rice, liquid, and oil in the pressure cooker (or whatever you are using), secure the lid, and set it to high. Cook for 20 minutes.
2. When timer is done, release the pressure, add broccoli and cheese, return to high and cook for 3 minutes.
This recipe is sooooo good. I usually make risotto with aroborio rice, which is still delicious and a good kind of rice, but I was out last night and just decided to use brown rice. I'm glad I did.

Now get ready for this. Your tastebuds will love it. Green Chile and Cheese Quesadillas from Dr.Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet:
2 tbls. olive or veg. oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 md. onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
3 poblano or pasilla chilies, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. Summer Salsa (recipe included below)
Non stick cooking spray
8 corn torillas
8 ounces reduced fat Monteray Jack cheese

Heat oil in large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions, and chilies. Cook, stirring, until vegetables begin to soften. Add water, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in salt and salsa.*

Spray a large skillet with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Place one tortilla in hot skillet, top with one-fourth of the cheese and one-fourth of the veggie mixture. Top with a second tortilla. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. **

* Upon reading this recipe to type up I realized I forgot to add the water and cover it. I just kept it sauteeing on medium-low heat for 12 minutes. I loved it. I'll try it next time with water to see if I notice a difference.
**You can make way more than 4 quesadillas with this. Just don't use as much of the veggies. I like to use less because you can taste the flavor more. And there's less stuff to spill when you flip them. Maybe I'm just not a good flipper. I'll have to work on that.

Summer Salsa:
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
juice of 2 limes
4 red or green (or combo) jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely choped
4 med. tomatoes, chopped
1 c. fresh or frozen(thawed) corn kernels
1 med. rip avocado, peeled and diced
1 c. fresh cilantro.

Place chopped onion in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, squeeze lime juice over it, and set aside for 15-20 minutes. Add chilies, tomatoes, corn, avocado, and cilantro, and stir to combine Serve immediatley, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. (trust me, it won't last 3 days!)

Zest Black Bean Dip

1 tblsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 med. red onion, chopped
1 med. red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2- 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
juice of 2 limes
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp. mild chili powder*
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste
2 tblsp. water

Heat oil over med.-high heat in large, heavy skillet. When oil is hot, add garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring until onion is translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a food processor (or blender) puree beans, lime juice, cilantro, chili poder, cumin, coriander, salt, cayenne, and water until smooth. Transfer puree to a bowl, and stir in onion mixutre. Cover and chill at least 3 hours **. Bring to room temp. before serving
*we were out of chili powder, so we used chipolte chili powder. This gave it a smokier flavor, but also very spicy. We think it would be better with regular chili powder.
**We ate it immediatley. It was still good. I liked to dip the aforementioned quesadilla's in it. This is zesty, like it says, but it has a great flavor. I think I'll make it next time I have a party.

Well, that's all. I hope some of you try the recipes. I have the whole next week planned out. We are going to have some great meals. I'll keep you posted, next time with pictures!
It's been a week without sugar or flour. I've lost 5 lbs, Eli's lost almost 9. I feel so good and I love it!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Sunday, Monday

Okay, I missed a day.
Here's what we had Sunday:
Breakfast: Green smoothie (I will explain a green smoothie further down)
Lunch: Salad. I put the bean salad I made over some lettuce. I also added some chicken that we grilled the other night.
Dinner: Chicken Tortilla Soup, Here's the recipe:
Chicken (however much you want, it’s good without chicken too.)
4 oz. can chopped green chiles
3 cans great white northern beans
2 tsp oregano
1 can rotel tomatoes
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbls. Oil
½ tsp salt
½ onion, chopped
14 oz. chicken broth
3 cloves minced garlic
3 c. shredded Monterey jack cheese
12 oz. sour cream.

1. Cook and dice chicken
2. Sautee onions and spices in oil until transparent.
3. Combine everything in crockpot.
4. Cook on low all day.
5. 1 hour before serving add cheese and sour cream, 1 c. at a time.

When I made it this time I reduced the amount of cheese and sour cream. I also used a bit more cayenne pepper, and I used chipolte chili pepper. It was really good.

Well, Eli is in Pocatello shadowing a doctor and visiting his mom and grandma. I sent him up with some leftover soups, salads, and fruits and veggies. I really am so proud of him for sticking to it and not complaining. It's harder for him because he really really really loves candy.

Yesterday I had:
Green smoothie for breakfast
bean salad salad for lunch
and Karen made this delicious soup, it's like the pasta faguli (sp?) at Olive Garden, but without the pasta. It was so good. I'm having it for lunch again today. It's full of veggies and hamburger and tomatoes and beans. MMMM!

So, let me try to explain a green smoothie. My sisters Ronda, Annie, and Alaina have been doing this for longer than me. I've only been doing them a few months. Basically, you have a fruit smoothie, but you just add greens. This is how I make mine: First I take a lot of spinach, kale, and flax seed, add water, and blend until smooth. Then I add a couple bananas (I make enough for Eli and I. I usually have 1 1/2 glasses, he has 1), and whatever other frozen fruit or fresh fruit I want. If you use fresh fruit be sure to add ice because it really is better cold. Greens are really important for people to eat, but we really don't get enough. This is a really easy way. The fruit you add masks the taste of the greens, which by themselves are not good. You can still tell that it is not a 100% fruit smoothie, but I really like them. Some of my favorite fruits to add are: peaches, kiwi (leave the skin on if you have a good enough blender and you'll get a lot of fiber), pineapple, and limes (Skin on too). Here ais a link to go to if you want to know more. Green Smoothie Girl and be sure to watch some youtube videos on it. Now that I've been on it for a while, I can always tell when I don't have one. I feel more tired and nauseous. It is really great for keeping things moving in your digestive track. Be warned that you'll be going to the bathroom more, but it will feel good!

So, that's all about all. Sorry this is not a very well organized blog post. I'm short on time today. I am also going to be trying out a lot of new recipes from the book, Dr. Gott's No Sugar, No Flour Diet. I'll be sure to post them.
I've been feeling great. It's been a week (tomorrow) and I've lost about 4 lbs. That's pretty cool.


Saturday, June 19, 2010

More info

Okay, so I started thinking that I would be boring everyone, but I got a comment from my friend who told me to keep it up. Thanks for the encouragement Heidi, I will.
Yesterday was good:
Green smoothie for breakfast
bean salad, lettuce wrap, and other snacks like veggies and a fruit salad
grilled chicken (Eli had the one from the Indian market that's marinated in their spices, but I just had mine in a more basic marinade, I just don't really like Indian food that much) and grilled veggies. I'll list the recipe for some good things below.
Today has been good. Eli is working all day, but I went garage saling (is that even a verb?) with Karen and her sister. I got some good stuff, one lady was selling Avon stuff for less than 1/2 off! Then I got our oil changed (the Jiffy Lube on state street closer to the mall has the nicest people and service. I actually kind of like getting the oil changed because they are so nice), and went to Sunflower market to load up on veggies and fruit.

I kind of made up this recipe based off of my moms version of bean salad. It's good plain, and also really good as a salad with a cilantro-lime salad dressing.
Bean Salad:
Black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 or 2 stalks of celery, chopped small, little bit of thinly sliced onion, 1 avocado chopped, juice of 1 or 2 limes, chopped cilantro, 1 can of corn (drained) a couple tomatoes chopped, and a 1 can of green chili's. I love this bean salad. Oh, and it's good on a salad, like I already said, but with chicken too.

Tonight we're having omelets, full of cilantro, mushrooms, peppers, and the like. I really like this way of eating because it's kind of fun to challenge myself to make delicious healthy stuff. Well, I gotta go meet Cindy. We're watching the boys for them tonight so they can go to a party.

See ya later!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Day 2

Yesterday we had:
Green smoothies for breakfast.
Almonds, beans, carrots and hummus, and a piece of whole wheat bread for lunch.
Grilled steak and grilled mixed veggies for dinner. It was delicious.

I also got my pilates DVD in the mail and we did that yesterday morning. I forgot how much I love pilates. Maybe I'll become a certified Pilates teacher some day. I have noticed having more energy, but I think the withdrawls are giving me headaches, but those should go away in a few days. Eli thinks he's already starting to lose weight. I was stupid and didn't weigh ourselves before we started, maybe I should today.

I think tonight we might go on a hike to Stuart Falls. I don't know if that can beat last weeks date of dinner at Olive Garden (we knew it would be our last time for a while) and games at Nickel City Arcade (that was a blast!). I know it will be fun though!

We'll keep posting.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Experiment

So, as I mentioned in the last post, Eli and I are trying to go off sugar and white flour. I got the idea from the book, Beat Sugar Addiction Now! by Jacob Teitlebaum. I want us to be healthy. I am sick of feeling tired after I eat something. We're only going sugar free for a couple of months, to sort of straighten ourselves out. After that we'll only have it in moderation, and avoid most processed foods. Anyway, to keep myself up to the challenge, I have decided to post about what we ate that day and what else we did, and any differences I feel or whatever I feel like writing about.

So, today, here is what we had:
Breakfast: Green Smoothie (I forgot the banana's today. It was pretty gross without it.)
Lunch: Cuban Black Beans, lettuce-wrapped turkey sandwich, almonds, and raw veggies.
Dinner: Creamy Southwestern Chicken, which was delicious, and a salad with cilantro lime vinagrette dressing.

Today I have felt really good. And it's only the first day. I had a sugar craving after dinner, when I saw hostess cupcakes in the pantry. But then I remembered that I had just eaten dinner, I wasn't hungry, and I don't need it. Eli is doing well too. I can tell he's not that excited about it, but he's not complaining.

Well, we're going to the library now.
Goodnight!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

One week late

Okay, so I promised a blog in a week. That has turned into two, but after a 5 month absence, that's not too bad, right? So, here is what has gone on in the past two weeks.
I have been working full time at Zachary Douglass. It's been good. It's definitley nice to have a job where I get to use my degree. The press release I wrote was published on a few websites and will be in three industry magazines in July. So, that's good. It's a good company with a good product to offer.
Eli's been working on his applications. They should be ready to turn in by Monday or Tuesday. That will be nice because at that point, we've done all we can do, then it will be up to the powers that be. He's been working more at Stonehenge. We've been keeping a pretty low profile lately. We had a fun barbeque at Annie's on Memorial Day. That was really nice, there was a lot of kids and even Elle May (the dog) made an appearance and ran off with Phoebe's hot dog.
Right now Eli is at work and I am at Annie's. She is using Karen's Cricut to make some vinyl letters to put on her laundry room wall. It's taking a long time, but we are getting the hang of it. Phoebe is being silly and tickling me. Later, I will pick up Eli and we'll work on his essays and personal statement tonight. Sounds like fun!
In other news, I am trying to be healthier. We have been doing green smoothies almost every morning for the past few months. I really like them. I notice the few times I haven't had them that I feel worse throughout the day. I just bought on amazon the book Beat Addiction Now. I perused it at a bookstore one time and I really want to get on a better diet, of eating more fruits and vegetables and less processed food. And I also got the Mari Winsor 20 minute workout. So, now starting every monday, wednesday, and Friday we will be doing Pilates if anyone wants to join. I'm just sick of being tired a lot. Especially now that all I do is sit at a computer all day. Phoebe is being really funny. Annie was eating some chocolate covered raisins, this is what Phoebe said in her funny Phoebe voice: "Hey! What are you eating? ... "Oooh, can I have some f those?.... Hey Mama! Give me one!" We'll end on that.