Holiday Musings

We had such a wonderful Thanks-g holiday in Lund, NV. It was so clear & beautiful--in weather, priorities, intentions & soul food... Mom & i corroborated a couple days before on what to pack for car food & to supplement the generous TG meal(s) provided. She brought carrots, broccoli, spinach, apples, clementines, oranges, bread etc. I brought Adam's crunchy PB, boiled eggs, Tillamook Antique White Cheddar (Not to be missed; it's from Costco--hereafter called "The Tillamook") and sun-dried tomato hummus. Notice all my contributions are high protein (& fat.)

This was intentional b/c the last time i traveled w Mom all she brought was veggies and cereal & i couldn't really get satisfied on such simple carbs. I always need a balance that includes some protein for meals. (Plain fruit IS great for a little snack or especially right before or after a workout for some quick energy.) But this idea of being satisfied at each meal is big for me, so that i don't want to overeat later. Many of us have a tendency to want to keep fat/calories/carbs low so we can lose weight or avoid weight gain...right? This is actually a form of dieting--"unconcious dieting"1--which like any formal diet, sets us up to crave, overeat or even binge. If you are cutting calories = not getting enough FUEL for your body, it puts you into a starvation mode, & then when you next gain access to any food with the nutrients you need (fat is a nutrient people)-- you will scarf like the Auschwitz guards won't give you more till next week! In other words--I invite you to eat when you're hungry & move on--no need to obsess about if it's the "right" food. & ps I invite you to avoid ALL fitness/"women's" magazines like plague as i believe they are terribly harmful to our self esteem/body image/diet mentality etc

Ok, enough of that ranting.. with the aforementioned supplies we created many meals, mostly just setting the table nicely, praying and putting together granola/fruit piles with milk or greek yogurt (and sliced egg or PB!) or open faced turkey sandwiches in the car w ricotta cheese, w Mom's agave-cranberry sauce daubed on. (i'll ask her to post that somewhere) She is a real genius w low sugar pies & deserts. I'll encourage her to start writing down "recipes."

As far as the actual TG meal goes--I loved the Grandma-style green beans, the yams w oranges, stuffing (of course!) & dark meat turkey w gravy. I avoided the potatoes & rolls b/c they are really just filler..and had jello salad & yams for dessert. Again, eating slowly helps us to be joyfully grateful for each delicious bite & to honor satiety cues sooner. What a blessing to celebrate with family & enjoy such a special holiday tradition!!

1 Tribole, E, Resch, E. Intuitive Eating; a revolutionary program that works. St.Martinn's New York: 1995.

The Bacon Fest

OK so i have to fill you in on the last week or so.

It all started when i noticed a whole package of nitrite-free bacon in my cheese-drawer i'd dragged home from Whole Foods dangerously on my bike.

That aside--i cooked it. All of it. I knew i had a week of work coming up & that cash was tight.

So i cooked all the things that needed to be & some other stuff that was cheap & homey for the next week..all centered around the bacon!

1st: Simple easy almost free-- kidney beans!

I hadn't thought ahead to soak so i just simmered them for a long, long time. Like an hour? Hour & a half-with a couple slices of the bacon of course & salt & red pepper (cayenne)

2nd: Corn Chowder.

Oh my gosh so yummy & like stupid how free and easy to make. I was just cooking to get rid of stuff, not some artistic masterpiece here. Really simple

ok onion chopped saute

added a few sliced tomatoes

a can of coconut milk (cause i had no dairy around or creamed soups)

water & a bunch of frozen corn

spiced w salt lotsa black & red pepper

um crumbled bacon like 2 pieces probably

maybe some ground ginger? &/or parsley or thyme or something..

you get the idea

simmer that for like 1/2 hour & then after it was cooled of i put it in the blender (half at a time)

till it was as smooth as i could get.

I ate it most times with the above beans b/c corn has like no protein so it's a GREAT combo

also would nuke fresh broccoli for a minute & throw that on top and/0r add Tillamook white sharp cheddar from costco on top for extra hearty oh so so yummy!

The bacon also came in handy later for awesome spinach salads

Like the crazy one i made yesterday for dinner

spinach

red cabbage

peeled clementines

broccoli (cut up really small)

um..walnuts

sliced hard-boiled eggs( i buy 2 dozen sometimes & boil a dozen they last a long time such a great snack or ingredient)

what else? oh, well feta of course

and sun-dried tomato hummus

a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar

AND

K this was gonna go on the side but i just went for it-nuked yams and some garlic i'd fried in the bacon fat. Wow! It's like a salad with hot salmon or chicken on it but garlicky yams! It was so freakin good.

oh yeah #3 on the bacon fest speaking of frying strange things in bacon fat--i almost don't want to disclose this one cause it sounds soo weird. alright, TOFU! I'd had this firm tofu in my fridge for ages but apparently it's indestructible & i really didn't know what to do with it. Despite what a hippie people think i am i am really not very experienced with said soy product.

so i cut it up & fried it--kinda like that awesome fried tofu you get in Vietnamese places? It was great b/c it takes on a flavor so it was bacon-y! i ate it with the beans, on salads..in wraps.

Wraps are a huge staple for me, you can put anything in a tortilla seriously

Like on Sunday after a brisk walk i was super hungry & wanted eggs, so I whisked 4 with some milk and salt and sun-dried tomatoes (maybe 1/4 cup) then fried those with some butter and what else? Feta

Then warmed said BEANS and tortillas.

Lined them w fresh spinach & put the beans & eggs on top, letting the spinach wilt..

woulda been good with salsa or plain yogurt/sour cream but we just ate them as is

with a side of Newman's own grapejuice.

Just one more thing. Today for breakfast..Nuked yam w honey, butter & cinnamon!! Oh the Joy

Cinnamon Grape Oatmeal

Oh yeah & for breakfast today:

I love hot cereal but don't want to wait for it & mess up a whole pan

so i do it in the Microwave! It totally works & you can do one serving at a time & not scorch a pan.. Just do 1/4 cup oatmeal (not instant) I actually use 9 grain cereal way more protein

and then like a cup of water cook for 3 minutes

Then i added these awesome black grapes from WHole foods, any fruit will work--like canned mandarin oranges, thawed frozen berries from Costco or your normal stuff like fresh bananas or berries if you have them. But i really dig the grapes.

What else..honey, walnuts & Winder 2% milk

Then i nuke it again for another min or 30 sec till the milk is hot & sprinkle w cinnamon!

It's good for circulation and colder weather, i think.

CHOW!

Last night i threw together this meal & i couldn't decide, was it soup? stroganaff? stew? food?

No, it was chow like the chowline from M.A.S.H., you know?

I'm sick so i can't really smell which makes cooking not very fun actually, but i still gotta eat & i had thawed this brick of ground beef while i tried to nap off my viruses..

So here's what i did:

Browned the beef with one chopped onion & 3 cloves garlic

Added 1 can tomato paste & a can of clam chowder (B/C i had no cream of whatever soup)

like a quart of water oh yeah & as the beef was cooking i rinsed like 2 cups of yellow moong dahl (little tiny lentils from the indian market--nice b/c they cook fast)

I threw those in with a buncha frozen broccoli, corn & some sundried tomatoes.

Seasoned w salt, oregano, fresh Rosemary i'd picked on my walk earlier outta someones yard

um...lotsa salt & pepper and of course, cayenne pepper so i could taste something!

Was it Mexican? Italian? Who cares..Cheap homey food I can eat all week:)

I ate it with a corn tortilla. Chow down!

Brown Cow Maple Cream Top Yogurt.

that's it.

Cranberry Spaghetti Squash

K this was so awesome i have to share

I baked 2 big Spaghetti Squashes (any kind would work-- & remember you can always microwave squash or ANYTHING really if you're short on time)

I cooked them at like 400 maybe for 45 min i suppose on a cookie sheet-till like charred nearly.

Then emptied out the innards into a bowl

(remove seeds-put back on cookie sheet and roast at like 450 till toasty)

Next, in a frying pan:

2 TBsp butter; 1/4 red onion chopped, like 5 asparagus spears broken to 1 inch pieces & a big handful of dried cranberries from Costco--oh yeah--& like 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Cook till onions are done & then stir it into the squash. Add salt & a couple pinches of cinnamon

Add back in the toasted seeds.

Brilliant if i don't say so myself. I ate it at work for like a week.

Yams for Breakfast

WHY NOT?

I love yams more than almost anything. I got this whole box from Costco & baked a bunch the other day just to have in the fridge to take to work for lunches. SO i've been eating them for breakfast & it's so good! The other day my tummy was a little queasy from some greasy pizza late the night before, so I had a yam & just plain white rice together. It was so comforting to my tummy!

The other non-breakfast food for breakfast i've been into is rice. Think about it--it's a whole grain just like oatmeal, right? So i just do the rice cooker thing for dinner one night and then eat the rice for breakfasts--it's so yummy warmed up with milk, honey & nuts ( i did raw spanish peanuts) Think outside the prescribed meals & just eat food i say. I prefer small meals every 3 hours instead of 3 big ones.

Beet Soup

This is so good for harvest time i think it started as a recipe my Mom got outta some magazine but we both make it all the time

ok

In a saucepan fry 1/2 an onion chopped in a couple TBsp olive oil

While that's going on, SHRED like 5 beets (With an apron over your clothes!)

I use the food processor or if feeling lazy just cut them pretty small

Throw those in and add enough water to cover & a healthy glug of lemon juice & 2 pinches salt

Simmer for 30 minutes

(May have to scoop off some wierd foamy stuff. But don't worry..)

Serve it w a scoop of plain yogurt and sprinkle with dill or whatever herb you've got around.

Yummy! & CRAZY good for you :)