Dinner.

     This photo has been sitting on my desktop for a while, waiting for me to do something with it. It's been a month since I last posted something, so it was time. I have so many things in my "blog bucket" that I needed to put a little dent in it.

     I enjoyed this dinner so much a while back, I had to take a photo of it. When I feel like I can't ever think of anything to cook, then I can look at this and be reminded that a little effort goes a long way. The Salmon patties are sold at Costco and are so versatile. I use them like I would a Salmon Filet. I've used them in tacos and just had 1/2 of one in a salad today. They do not taste like something processed, but actually satisfy my craving for fish. I made the risotto from leftover brown rice, adding diced yellow peppers, onions, dill, parmesan cheese and chicken broth. It was creamy and lowfat. The salad is also a Costco favorite: The Parisian. Love the dressing. My mom and I once ordered a whole box of the dressing we loved it so much. We had to take a break from it after that, but it's back on our list again. Time to get a little inspired about dinner again and make a little effort. Sometimes it's just going through the motions and other times it's a creative outlet. I'm ready for creative outlet. If you have any quick, easy ideas for dinner, send them my way. Would love to hear what's on your table for dinner. 

Have a great day!

Light Alfredo Sauce: A recipe for a rainy day

What to serve with chicken that I cooked in my crockpot? I found this recipe for a Light Alfredo Sauce yesterday on sparkpeople.com (they include nutritional information, still checking it all out, but it looks interesting), a new website that I happened upon in my search. It got good reviews. It is a little thinner than more caloric recipes, but the flavor was still good. I followed the advice of one review and let it sit for a bit to thicken it up. I added a cup of uncooked spinach as a bed for the whole wheat pasta, chicken, mushrooms and alfredo sauce.

Light Alfredo Sauce 

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups skim milk 1 cup chicken broth 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden brown.

In a small saucepan, stir together milk, chicken broth, flour, salt and pepper over low heat until smooth and thick. Stir into garlic. Continue to cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thick. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Number of Servings: 8 - (1/3) cup servings or 6 (1/2) cup servings

And the finished product

This got great reviews from both Ben and Emma, which is saying a lot. Ben wanted seconds and Emma readily ate pasta and told me that she really liked it and that she liked it better than the red sauce. They skipped the spinach and the mushrooms, but either way, it's a winner.

Food, Glorious Food!

I know it's  cliche' to make New Year's resolutions regarding food and exercise, but I don't care.  I welcomed it. I knew I was on a slippery slope and by the time January 1st rolled around I felt like I was so ready for a change. I don't think eating sugary foods for every meal can be a good thing. That was the day I said, "No more!" I had pushed myself to the edge. I had abused my relationship with food. I had cheapened it and lost respect for it. I was eating without thinking of the consequences. So, the first thing that I decided to do was a sugar detox. Nothing too scientific or regimented, just eliminate the desserts and candy...just for a day...and then for another day...and another...it wasn't even that hard to do. It felt great in fact. It boosted my confidence about other changes to come. I decided to get back to my Weight Watcher's way of eating and cooking. I joined Weight Watchers 4 years ago on January 16. I lost 20 lbs. and it felt great. (Yes, past tense...I got distracted by life and some of it came back...but I am still a believer.) I pulled out my WW stuff last week and got back to eating the way that I know is right and I feel more in control. My refrigerator went through a makeover, too. I cleaned it out to give it a fresh start. Food and I are starting to work things out. I feel like we're getting back in the groove and I'm loving it all over again, with greater respect for what kind I choose to associate with and put into my body.

Let me introduce you to some of my new (old) friends...

From top to bottom, L to R: (hiding on the top row) Better Than Bouillon, Trader Joe's Natural Peanut Butter, Light Coconut Milk, brown mushrooms, lemon (love 'em!), ginger, leftover yummies, spinach, leftover Thai  chicken wrap filling**(recipe below), peanut sauce in the back**, chicken apple curry sauce that goes over rice. Some people don't eat leftovers. I am not one of them. I recycle them into something new and improved. Some of my kids see through this attempt at serving the same thing two nights in a row. Too bad. 

Other things I have on hand: the bacon bits in a bag from Costco (so versatile...and a little goes a long way), cheese (I would rather use less real cheese and real butter than fat free or light), tomatoes, cilantro, lime, cucumbers, and beans among other things.

So now when I open my refrigerator, instead of standing there and staring and wondering, "What (yawn...) am I (yaaaawwwwn) going to fix for dinner??" I smile and say,  "Oh, I can't wait to have you for dinner!" Fruits and vegetables have moved back home.  My food world has color once again and I am so dang happy about it.  I want you to feel what I'm feeling so I'm going to give you two recipes that you can get excited about and try. If you're not a big ethnic food person...change...and I mean right now. I'm not kidding. By the way, a taco from Taco Bell is NOT an ethnic food. There are so many good flavors out there just waiting for you to embrace them. 

These recipes both have a Thai theme. Use the leftover peanut sauce on the wraps the next day. We had them both this week. The first one is from the Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites cook book (I saw this book at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago. Would have bought it if I didn't already have it).

Thai Chicken Satay

(serves 6, normal portions)

Chicken marinade:

• 3 T. Asain fish sauce** 
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 T. grated fresh ginger
• 2 tsp. grated lime zest
• 1 T plus 1 tsp. lime juice
• 2 1/2 lbs chicken (cut into strips that you can either broil in oven or BBQ on skewers)

**(now don't you say, "Eww!" to the fish sauce...give it a chance.  It's a seasoning, just like soy sauce)

Directions: Place marinade ingredients in a large zip lock bag, mix, then add chicken and refrigerate from 1-6 hours, turning bag occasionally. If I had skewers I'd BBQ them as my first choice. You can also broil the whole breasts and then cut them up. Cook 6-8 minutes or until they look done, turning once.

Peanut Sauce

(serving size: 2 T)

Whisk together until smooth:

• 3/4 c. light coconut milk
• 6 T. creamy peanut butter
• 2 1/2 T. honey 
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 T. fish sauce
• 2 T. lime juice
• 2 tsp. lime zest

(I like to heat the sauce up in the microwave before I serve it)

Serve with rice and asian salad. For salad try Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame dressing on lettuce greens with orange slices, sliced almonds, cucumbers, green onions and tomatoes. So de-lish.

***********************************************

This next one I found on the internet.

Thai Chicken Wrap

recipe courtesy Rachel Ray on FoodNetwork.com

makes 4 BIG wraps

(I used leftover lean pork chops from the night before instead of chicken)

Ingredients:

• 3 (6 ounce) chicken breasts
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 T. grill seasoning (whatever you want)

(I would just throw this in the crock pot in the a.m.)

Salad:

• 1/2 seedless cucumber, halved and sliced thinly
• 2 c. fresh bean sprouts
• 1 c. shredded carrots
• 4 green onions, sliced in thin slices
• 12 fresh basil leaves (This is what go me excited!!)
• 3 T. chopped mint leaves (This just added to it!)
• 1 T. sesame seeds

mix and pour over salad:

• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 T. rice vinegar or regular white vinegar
• salt

Her spicy peanut sauce(did not try)besides, I love coconut milk instead of the oil:

• 1/4 c. room temp chunky peanut butter
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. rice wine vinegar or regular vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 T. vegetable oil

Add cut up or pulled apart chicken to salad and divide into 4 servings on 4 (12-inch) tortilla wraps.

Pour 2 T. of leftover peanut sauce from night before on each wrap and then roll it up. 

I used Clay Oven Baked whole wheat Lavash Bread, cut in half instead of the tortillas. I found them at Trader Joe's. They tasted lighter to me than a tortilla.

So, there you have it. These recipes are tried and true. I hope they add a little zip to your dinner menus.

Bon Appetit and Enjoy!

It's the last day of the year.

I thought I would beat the "I'm going to start exercising on January 1st" rush and start exercising on the last day of this year. It actually started the day before when I hiked Camelback Mountain with my sister-in-law, Annika and some of our kids. It was hard and yes, I felt out of shape, but I didn't die like I did the last time I hiked Camelback in November. I decided I might try running this morning. I started by putting on exercise clothes (sometimes this is as far as I get), then I put on my watch, found my shuffle, put on my sunglasses, took some pics of me getting ready to exercise (this all took quite a while...maybe I was hoping that I wouldn't actually have any more time to run), then there was nothing left to do, but run, so off I went. 

I am happy to report that I ran for 36 minutes...well, o.k., it was more of a jog, but the important thing to remember is that I kept moving and  it felt o.k. I was encouraged. I think I'll try it again soon.

Be A.W.A.R.E.

(Sorry, no pedicure or even lotion or anything to make them look better!)

I get some of my best blog ideas (to me) when I'm running, or sometimes in the shower. One of those ideas or thoughts that came to me recently was about the word 'stress'.  Did you ever notice that 'stress' is in the word 'desserts' , but backwards?! Kind of sneaky, just like the pounds that seem to creep back on when I feed my stress with food? They seem to go hand in hand lately for me. Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE food. I like good food as much as I like junk food. Lately (as in the last several months!...maybe longer) I've just been eating WAY TOO much of both. This has had an adverse effect on my wardrobe (Oooo...too tight!), so I decided to get back to what I know works and that is where my second great idea came in. I started thinking about my success with Weight Watchers 3 years ago and what I learned from that experience. That's how I came up with 'Be A.W.A.R.E.'

Be

A.- ACCEPT that it's going to take time to turn it around. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither where my thighs. Also ACCEPT your/my body type.

 

W.- WATER...Drink plenty of it every single day. Stay hydrated. Especially hard for me most of the time, but especially in the winter. Sometimes I get creeped out thinking about how little I hydrate myself. I deserve to look like a prune!

A.-ACCOUNTABILITY...This is a must. This is where our friend, a good scale comes in, but only weigh  once a week. No more. Preferrably on the same day. With clothes and a heavy coat the first week, naked the second week. You'll notice results right away. It's a weighing trick some of the ladies I met at WW taught me my first week there. Then keep track of you progress.

R.-REALITY CHECK...You can want to change and even think you are going to do it, but if you aren't living in reality and write down what you eat, you'll be in the dark about what you're really taking in. This was the one thing that really helped me the most and will help me again to get back on track. Pretty soon, writing down what I ate made me more aware of my consumption and made me want to stay within my allotment every day, and look forward to eating my bonus points every week.  I even looked forward to weighing in.

 

E.-EXERCISE...Another must for my mental well being  as well as just the physical benefits...plus, (bonus: I can eat more when I exercise) I read a great little book on this whole general subject called, "Running with Angels" I highly recommend it. My running started the Monday after Christmas. 

So there you have it. My invitation to anyone else who wants to join me in Being  more A.W.A.R.E. in 2009 :-)

By the way, I came home from my run and ate two chocolate chip cookies. Mmm. 

Living in reality.