Cleaning House

Well, the holidays are finally behind us, and I say - good riddance! Not that I didn't enjoy them, simply that I enjoyed them a little too much! Though I keep a (mostly) vegan kitchen, even plant-based goodies can be unhealthy if consumed in abundance. So, yesterday I did a bit of housekeeping.  Out went the candy canes, leftover chunks of faux cheese, container of soy "nog," etc.  Bye-bye to the big fluffy bagels, cranberry bread & dark chocolate confections. The refrigerator got emptied, cleaned and restocked with veggies & fruits, pantry was swiped and sorted.  Ah, much better!

In my quest to remove the junk, I found some good-for-you items that are languishing and need to be used ASAP. This week I'll be focusing on just that, finding and creating dishes that make use of those little random bits & pieces.

First up: carrots & celery.  While the former has a pretty long fridge life, the latter, alas, does not.  I have a package of slightly-wilting stalks that need my attention, pronto! While they may not be firm enough for dipping, they worked out just fine in this dish.

Sorry, no pic today as it's rainy outside which makes for dreary lighting indoors.  You'll have to trust me that it looks as good as it tastes!

   Farmhouse Stew    

            (inspired by Mary McDougall)               

  6               cups  vegetable broth, ready-to-serve
  1             medium  onion -- chopped
  2             cloves  garlic -- minced
  2             stalks  celery -- chopped
  1             medium  carrot -- chopped
  15            ounces  diced tomatoes
     1/4           cup  pearl barley
  30            ounces  cooked kidney beans
  1                     bay leaf
  1           teaspoon  oregano
                        freshly ground pepper to taste
  3               cups  fresh spinach -- chopped

Place a small amount of the broth in a large soup pot.  Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until vegetables soften slightly.  Add the remaining broth, canned tomatoes, beans, barley, bay leaf, oregano and ground pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 55 minutes.  Add the spinach, cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve at once, adding salt & pepper if desired.

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Per Serving: 264 Calories; 2g Fat (7.1% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 49g Carbohydrate; 13g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 1038mg Sodium.  6 PointsPlus according to WW Recipe Builder.

Please note: You'll see that the original recipe calls for 2 cups of hearty bread. However, I can not be trusted with a loaf of "good" bread in the house. A fresh baguette has no chance of making it home from the bakery intact. So, I eliminated it from this dish.  If you have more carb-control than I do, by all means, enjoy! Also, I didn't have barley on hand so I substituted leftover cooked brown rice.  

Since soup weather is finally here in South Florida, I'll be making another pot this evening. Pop back in tomorrow for Mexican Chowder!

Have a beauty-full day!

 Michele

Not-So-Happy-Hour

After the rotten day we had yesterday, Beren and I decided to enjoy Happy Hour at a nearby chain restaurant where Kali's friend works. We go there on occasion as it's a cheap date for us and we get to visit with Dana.

Having had such a good day eating both Tuesday and Wednesday up to that point, I wanted to stay on program and figured I could have a little healthy appetizer with my moderate-glass-of-planned-for chardonnay. One look at the Flanigan's menu proved that to be a futile effort. Except for the mayonnaise-laden smoked fish dip or very expensive steamed shrimp, everything else was calorie-and-fat-laden deep fried cheese or animal products. Chicken Wings, Mozzarella Sticks, and Potato Skins are no longer on my eating plan, folks! Giving up on that idea, I looked toward the dinner part of the menu and decided to share a grilled mahi sandwich with Beren, naked baked potato on the side. When the waiter delivered our dish, Beren literally pushed it toward me because he couldn't stand the fishy smell! Not a good sign! I decided to be brave and take a bite, moved the meat off the bread, piled it high with the tomatoes, onion and lettuce, and cut a bite. Ugh! Not only was the fish tasteless, with no seasonings whatsoever, but it was quite obviously not fresh. At this moment I could hear Allan's words ringing in my head: "Don't Trust Restaurants. Ever." So I sent the fish back, ate the potato and finished my wine, frustrated but ever-so-glad that I didn't settle for putting that garbage into my body!

Our weekend travel plans have been canceled due to Beren's work schedule so I'll be home cooking for myself this weekend. I really don't mind, I could use another couple of days to recover from this nasty cold as well as the other dramas that have been swirling around lately.

I mixed up the menu a bit, already served the vegetarian chili on Tuesday, so tonight I'm going to do something with pasta..whole wheat, of course.

This Portobello Mushroom Ragu was originally posted in Clean Eating magazine, I found it at this lovely blog called A Fit and Spicy Life..don't you love that title?
Because I have a bag of fresh spinach about to wilt in my crisper drawer, I'm going to throw that in as well, adding some more veggies and healthy goodness!



Portobello Mushroom Ragu

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2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion -- diced
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 6 oz Portobello mushroom caps -- trimmed and diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
13 1/4 ounces whole wheat pasta

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute the onions until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes.

Add garlic and saute for 1 minute, stir in mushrooms and thyme. Continue to cook over high heat until the mushrooms have softened and given off their juice 2-3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and cook until the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve over whole wheat pasta.

Source:
"Clean Eating Magazine"
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Serves 6. Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 301 Calories; 6g Fat (15.8% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 56g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 250mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 1 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

NOTES : To clean portobello’s you can use a spoon to scoop out the insides before cleaning and chopping.

On the side there will of course be a big green salad and a glass of red wine..I can't wait!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,


P.S. For an occasional indulgence, Mad Men Style, I'll be looking to this blog for inspiration!

August Already?

Can you believe it is August already? The summer is flying by!

As of today, Beren and I are on vacation, arrived at the Ormond house late last night. While vacations can typically be very dangerous for diets, it's much easier when the destination is your own full-equipped home. While I'm sure we will go out for a couple of meals, I plan to cook most of our meals so I have no excuse for holiday weight gain!

With this in mind, I got up this morning and surveyed the food stockpile, found it sorely lacking in fresh fruits, veggies and lean protein - staples of a "clean" diet. I also have to keep in mind the taste buds of Beren's girls who are with us this week. I might have mentioned their aversion to vegetables and reliance on processed garbage (they consider Pop-Tarts a food group) and while I won't contribute to their poor eating habits, I do need to ensure that they eat something while in my care. I'm confident that tonight's dinner won't be devoured by them but hopefully it won't be met with disgust either. (God, how I hate the teen years!)

The original recipe can be found here, I adapted it slightly to make it mostly-vegetarian and a bit healthier.

"Sausage" Pasta
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3/4 pound whole wheat pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces meatless sausage crumbles
1 medium onion -- chopped
4 cloves garlic -- minced
14 1/2 ounces fat-free chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
14 1/2 ounces canned diced tomatoes
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and reserve.

In a large skillet, heat oil and sausage crumbles; cook through until thawed. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Add broth, basil and tomatoes with liquid.

Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to slightly reduce. Add chopped spinach; cover skillet and simmer on reduced heat until spinach is tender.

Add pasta to skillet and mix together. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

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Serves 4 (generously). Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 438 Calories; 8g Fat (14.8% calories from fat); 25g Protein; 77g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 812mg Sodium.

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Half a Pound..

That's what I lost this week. Well, .60 actually. You know, I'm pleased with that! It shows that I'm on the right track and know that next week will be even better.

In doing more research on "clean eating," I found that some people give themselves one meal a week to "cheat." I think that's a great idea for me, will prevent deprivation and give me something to look forward to. (Pizza night comes to mind!) And one meal is no big deal, I can certainly bounce back from that.

I'm finding this way of eating to be easier than I'd imagined. I tend to be a "healthy" eater anyway, my issue has always been portion control and giving into temptation for the dreaded "white stuff." The less I eat of that, the fewer cravings I have. Loading up on good protein helps, too. Beren grilled me up a bunch of chicken breasts over the weekend, I cut them into 4 oz portions and separated them into ziploc bags, ready to go for lunch or dinner. I'm going to ask him to do some fish for me next, perhaps a nice mahi or salmon..yummy!

I've been taking pictures of some of my meals, will try to share them with you tomorrow. Thanks to my ex-husband the computer guru I finally have my laptop back, yippee!!

Off to work..hope you all have a beauty-full day!

Cleaning Up

Ah..it's wonderful what a day on the couch will do to a girl! I only left the house for an hour yesterday, just long enough to pick up books & dvd's from the library and dinner ingredients from the gourmet market. It's so hot here, 93 degrees after sundown last night, that holing up in the a/c was not a hardship at all. I'm feeling a little better this morning, thanks to all of you for your well wishes!

One of the books I checked out from the library is The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno. I've heard a lot about "clean eating" and wanted a bit more information. Have any of you read this and/or follow this diet? The author is in her late 40's and looks amazing. Yeah, ok, she's probably had a bit of work done and yeah she works out a ton but still...what would I give for those abs?!



I skimmed through the pages yesterday and thought, "wow, this is the way my ex-husband the bodybuilder used to eat." Protein powder. Oatmeal. Egg whites. Chicken Breast. Whole grain. 6 small meals a day. Very popular way of eating for the gym rats and, yes, I can attest to the fact that it works. My ex and his buddies had great bodies with very little fat and had a lot of energy.

More importantly, though, is whether or not it's do-able for me. Here are the basic principles:

• Eat 5-6 small meals, everyday
• Eat every 2-3 hours
• Combine lean protein & complex carbs at every meal
• Drink at least 8 cups of water, everyday
• Never miss a meal, especially breakfast
• Avoid all over-processed foods, especially white flour and white sugar
• Avoid saturated and trans fats
• Avoid sugar-loaded colas and juices
• Consume adequate healthy fats (EFAs) everyday
• Avoid alcohol
• Avoid calorie dense foods that contain little nutritional value
• Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins and enzymes
• Stick to proper portion sizing

Sounds pretty easy, right? The only thing I'd have a problem with is, frankly, the avoidance of alcohol. You all know how much I enjoy my vino! So, I'm going to do my best with that part.

If you want to learn more and don't necessarily want to purchase the book, check out the Sparkpeople Team Forum for Clean Eating. Lots of information and support there!

I did a quick grocery run this morning, came home and made breakfast. Following the basic principles, ate: 3 egg whites scrambled with diced green peppers, 1/2 a cup of oatmeal with raisins, a teaspoon of unsweetened applesauce and a splash of almond milk. Filling and delicious!

I'll keep you posted on how the rest of the day goes..hope yours is Beauty-Full!

xoxoxoox