Weight Motivation

So back on the horse I go.  After Monday's weigh-in (which was shocking, depressing, but not really surprising considering how much I "consumed"), it's back to working out, making healthier food choices and drinking less, (blah!).  My motivation ?  No, not to stay healthy, but to get a Coach bag (or two!), and maybe, just maybe when I reach my goal weight, I can go to Las Vegas to celebrate the new and improved,  toned and  hot, me.  My plan is simple;  I am going to bribe myself  into the 150 - 155 lb range.  My mantra?

Ok...imagine...me at 150 lb, on the strip with.....

Me. Coach. Vegas.  

Me. Coach. Vegas.   

Me. Coach Vegas. 

...this BAG!!!!

Okay, I am half serious.  The real reason of course for me to shed this final 10 - 15 lb is really to be healthy, to sustain a lifestyle that I love, enjoying food and wine (but not too much), and to really maintain my weight in my 150's range.  But, my mantra is really could motivate me this time...right?  I know, you have to want to change and all that, but I could do it this time.  I could just set some small attainable goals, and set myself up for success.



So....this week I have worked out already 2 times, for about 45 minutes each.  And, my food choices have been better.  And, I have not had any wine or gin since Saturday (it's only Wednesday!).  So....already a number of things to celebrate!












Just gotta keep my mantra going in my head....(and keep up with eating healthy, small portions, and all that exercise stuff, blah blah blah).....but the mantra!  Don't forget the mantra!


Me. Coach. Vegas. Me. Coach. Vegas. Me. Coach. Vegas.

Tell me why (I don't like Mondays...)

Like the song says....I don't like Mondays.   Particularly today!

I work part time, and Monday is MY day at home....so no, not sitting eating bon-bons watching soaps, but my day to do some cleaning, meal planning, going through last weeks mail, organizing etc...But today, many little things have happened already, and it's only 9 am.

• Our son has a bad cold and cough today, so he is at home in the hopes that we will nip this in the bud.  While I am all for taking care of my kids, it changes my plans for MY Monday.  Selfish of me?  A bit.  
• My weigh in the morning was NOT good (could it be all the wine I drank over the past two weekends?)  While I am not surprised at this more-than-2 lb-less-than-5 lb-gain, I am pissed off at myself for letting it go...again.   Back on the horse for me.  blah.
• My daughter just called from the school, and forgot her agenda.   My response for this was to just write down her homework on a piece of paper, but no!  That wouldn't do, as she stated "mom, i really need the agenda because I have to pass in my Entertainment Book money and the field trip forms!".  Well, okay honey, I'll get right to it!  Then I thought in my head that if she had packed her bag last night, as I had asked, we wouldn't be here, now would we????

I saw a magnet on my mother-in-law's fridge this weekend, and it is very fitting for today.  It reads something like:

"Hold on, and let ME drop everything so I can work on YOUR problem" 

or something like that.    

Yep.  That's about the size of it.  But I suppose when you look at my list of Monday complaints, it is all minor stuff that is fixable and solvable, and I guess if you're going to have problems, it's best to have these types of problems (except the weight thing, which really REALLY sucks!).

Happy Monday everyone!

Slappin' the Salami (not what you think!)

Mrs F's Slappin-the-Salami Appie

We had a fantastic weekend, surrounded by friends, family and food...my three favourite F-words!   Add in some fine wine, football and friendly conversation and it made for a fabulous weekend, full of fun (more F-words!).  As usual, I am always on the lookout for new and delish appies for my food repertoire, and this weekend did not disappoint!  Simple and delicious, eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing, it is a must-have at any gathering.  Plus, if you tell your friends you brought over your "slappin' the salami" appie, you are sure to be the most popular person there!  

What you need:  Pickled asparagus (from Costco of course), sliced Genoa salami and cream cheese.

What to do:  slap the cream cheese on the salami, and spread evenly.  Then just roll your asparaguses in the cream-cheese-smeared-salami, and layer nicely on a plate.  They'll go pretty fast, so make sure to grab your salami first before anyone else gets it!

And last, but not least...grab your drink, grab your plate and sit back, relax and enjoy!  And if you don't really get the rules of the CFL, or don't understand why those guys take a knee, and run the clock, just "fake it till you make it" and you'll be fine!



Cheers!

Schnitzel Schnitzel (betchya can't say that five times fast!)

Yesterday's dinner was so delicious, and we were so hungry, there is no picture.  We were famished when we got home, and I needed something delicious.   Last week, I had made some schnitzel with some fast-fry pork chops.  They were great cuts of meat with hardly any fat.  And why make one batch when you can make two?  I froze the schnitzel and made it today with gnocchi pasta and veggies on the side.  The pork schnitzel recipe is one I got from a friend at work (which I have modified of course!).

Schnitzel:, simply dust the chop with flour, dip in egg, and then roll in panko bread crumbs.  You can add in salt and pepper to the crumbs, or whatever spices you like.  Pan fry til cooked thru and golden brown.

Sauce:  about 1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth, a splash or three of white wine (or I used Prosecco, and had a glass for me too!), 2 - 3 minced garlic cloves, juice of about 1/2 of a lemon.   I also thickened it up with a bit of cornstarch and water.

I stuck the chops in the oven, covered them with the lemon/wine/garlic sauce, and then baked them up til nice and bubbly.  For the gnocchi, boil that at the last minute as it doesn't take very long.  Because I had no sauce to go on it, after they were cooked, I pan fried them in a bit of butter, and boy, were they delish!

All in all, it didn't take long between walking in the door from work to getting dinner on the table, and managing to having a nutritious meal.  Not bad for a Wednesday meal!

Easy Quinoa Salad

Some roasted chicken (top left); Quinoa salad (top right)
and leftover oven roasted beets and sauteed beet greens.

I love quinoa (pronounced keen-wa).  It is grain-like, and is highly nutritious, is gluten free, and is a good source of iron, protein and dietary fibre.  It is a great alternative to rice or pasta, and is excellent in salads, or as side dish to any meal.

I tried the recipe on the back of the "TruRoots" brand of quinoa at Costco, and it was delicious, and tasted even better the next day.  It made an excellent leftovers-lunch combined with my extra roasted chicken.  Yum!

True Roots Quinoa...available at Costco!
Link for "True Roots" products is below!

TruRoots Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa (I cooked 1 cup, so it ended up being about 2 cups of cooked...not sure if this was right, but its what I did!)  Take 1 cup raw quinoa and put in pot with 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil, and then simmer on medium low, covered for 15 minutes.  You'll know its ready when the seeds are a bit translucent.  Once ready, fluff with a fork and let cool.

Salad fixin's:  1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup of coursely chopped pecans (I added more than this, as I love pecans in any type of salad).  I wonder if raisins and/or currents could also work in this recipe?  Will have to try that next time!

Salad dressing:  6 TBSP orange juice, 1 TBSP olive oil, zest of one orange, dash of salt (optional...I never put this in) and fresh thyme leaves.

Throw it all together, and enjoy!


http://truroots.com/products/truroots-single-grains/organic-quinoa/

Meal-Planning Monday Madness!

Meal planning madness is an understatement!   I went a bit crazy with cooking today but my intentions were good AND we will reap the benefits for sure, as we now have some quick and nutritious meals that are crucial for surviving the hockey and ringette season.

I have always had it in me to cook more than is required.  Why not cook two chickens instead of one or brown five pounds of ground beef  at once?  Time always seems so limited, but when I have it, I really try and use it wisely, and this afternoon, it all started with the chickens.  Easy, quick and  no real recipe required. Simply put the raw birds in a roasting pan (rinse with water and lemon juice first..that's what my ma always says!), and season away!  My seasoning varies depending on what I have, but today I used the Epicure Poultry Blend, some salt, pepper and lemon juice, and then drizzled on some soy sauce.  I also threw in the lemon after I squeezed it on the birds.  Cover, and cook for about 1 hour, and then remove cover, and cook for another hour on 350.  One bird fed the four of us today and my hubby and I have leftovers for lunch AND we threw the carcass in the deep freeze to make soup.  Done.  And we still have one whole cooked bird in the deep freeze.  Next.....

I made the motherload in spaghetti sauce.   Again, I never use a recipe, as I just throw in whatever.  Just brown the ground round, and once cooked through and through, throw it in a big pot (or a slowcooker if you like), and get the creative juices flowin'!  I added a couple cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, some red wine that was leftover, (weird that I had some vino left!), some balsamic, lots of fresh minced garlic and fresh chopped basil.  I also had some tomatoes that needed to be eaten, so I threw them in the blender and tossed them in the sauce as well.  And presto!

Five meals of spaghetti, one of which will be to make a lasagne, one for sloppy Joe's and the others can be for spaghetti.   All labelled and in my deep freeze!

My last task tonight was of course was baking a batch of cookies so the kids have a treat in their lunches, and they make a great after school snack (with a glass of milk and a fruit of course!).  I made some brown sugar cookies which are super yummy, and I know the kids will love them!  I confess that I did try them (ate two) and they were delicious.




So in a nutshell, I baked 2 chickens, made 5 meals of spaghetti,. and baked 3 dozen (minus 2!) brown sugar cookies, and that was my Meal-Planning Monday Madness!

Was it worth it?   Most definitely!  I already know we'll be having spaghetti tomorrow!

Late Night Baking, etc...

So those of you who have read some of my posts know that I can be a bit...much.  I go overboard with baking and cooking, and sometimes, I do this at the most inopportune time.  Tonight, it was after 10 pm when I decided to bake not just my easy breezy brownies, but also make some pizza rolls for the kids to take for lunch (which also doubles as a great after school snack).  Cue the hubby rolling his eyes at my late night baking antics, and off I went to cook and bake, with my iPad  tuned to my fave soap (yes, I still enjoy the occasional episode of GH....and its REALLY good right now!).

I started after 10 pm and  finished before 11:30:

Pizza buns...yummmm.....

•  Made the dough, and while it was rising, I whipped up my easy brownies.
• While they were baking, it was time to roll out the dough in a rectangle shape, slap on the pizza sauce, shredded mozza and black forest ham.  
• After that was all topped up, time to roll it up like a log, pinch the seam and ends shut, cut into sandwich sized pieces and bake for 20 minutes on 350.  They heat up great in the microwave at school, and the kids really like them!  
• And of course they can be stored in your deep freeze for a quick snack/lunch/whatever!  When do I make anything I can't freeze??

The brownies of course turned out, and will make a yummy treat in the kids lunches tomorrow.

1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
3 TBSP cocoa
Mix all the wet together, throw in the dry stuff, mix well, and bake for 18 minutes at 350!

That was...

Dinner in 20!

Tonight's dinner was slightly disjointed, but was home-made, healthy and ready in 20!


 September is synonymous with busy-beyond-all-belief.  Between hockey and ringette evaluations, piano lessons, back to school and morning routines, its enough to make you go mad.  As a family, we really try to eat dinner together, but it doesn't always work out that way.  We actually manage to sit down at the dining room table and eat dinner together as a family at least 4-5 nights per week.   But like I said, due to the kids activities, sometimes you really just have to work around their schedule.

Tonight was one of those nights, both kids with activities in different parts of the city, all around dinner time (of course).  I did the "hockey run" and once we were back, the boy was starving.  What's the first thing I was asked? "Can we order out?"   My response was a firm "No!" followed by a "Go shower, and I'll whip something up for dinner."    OK...time to make good on my meal planning skills...Ah ha!  In my deep freeze I found a frozen container of home made soup with orzo, chicken, carrots, celery, chick peas, green peas, quinoa.....yum!   But I knew it would not be quite enough...Ah ha again!   Pre-made, home-made frozen burgers (with some hemp hearts for extra nutrients!).  Ok...burgers and soup it is!  And I even had the buns!  Throw in some raw veggies and dip and a glass of milk, and  dinner was ready in 20 minutes, and was a completely balanced and healthy meal.

I will sometimes ask my kids...is the meal balanced?  Perhaps it is an occupational hazard of mine, but I want them to learn what a balanced meal is...so I ask them:   Does the meal have protein?  Does the meal have grain for your brain (cuz grain is fuels your brain!)?  Does the meal have fruits and/or vegetables?  Do you have a source of calcium?  OK...I don't do this at every meal (really, I don't) but I do think about these things when I am meal planning and today's dinner passed with flying colours:

• protein:  the burger, and some of the chicken and legumes in the soup
• grain: the bun, and the orzo in the soup
• fruit or veggie:  veggies in the soup, raw veggies and dip

My saving grace?  Having stuff in the deep freeze!  And by the time the other two got home from ringette, dinner was ready, and oh, so good.   

Ahhhhh.......Serendipity......

Today was a beautiful day for September.   Sunny and warm with a light breeze, and still too early in September to be so busy that you don't see the light of day.

There were some great moments of today that were so serendipitous, I had to share...

I had three hours to myself this afternoon since our daughter was on a play-date (can you still call them "play-dates" when they are 10 years old?) and my son was at hockey practice with the hubby.  3 hours!  Can you imagine?  I decided I was not going to do any house-tasks (not a difficult decision for me) and I ended up spending a luxurious afternoon trying to finish the second instalment of the Hunger Games.

Then, my hubby comes home around 3:30 without our son.  So lets add this up.  No son.  No daughter. Just me. Just hubby. Hmmmmmm.  So what to do with all this time?   We were both hungry...starving...for.....food!  So we opted for an early dinner (we ate at 4:30!!)  with a bottle of one of my fave California Red's, Deadly Zins.




Our supper tonite was again, one of our favourites...BBQ steak and salad.   Hubby does a phenomenal steak, and we had a few NY cuts and one small tenderloin cut in the freezer.  I made a salad with fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market, and it was delicious!  I had some green beens, Swiss chard, and fresh tomatoes. I steamed the green beans, and wilted the chard and once we were ready to eat, I added the tomatoes.   The dressing was super simple and inspired by Health Stand Nutrition, where I do some nutrition consulting.   It has red wine vinegar (had none, so used rice vinegar), sesame oil and minced garlic.    Steam the greens, throw in the reds, toss in the dressing and voila!

Delicious and nutritious, and tonight, it was all kid-free.   It really can't get any better than that!    Ahhhh....Serendipity.


Addendum:  A special thank you to our friends, who had our children today and fed them supper.  These serendipitous events could not have occurred without you guys!

You Can't Beet That!!

Who knew these
didn't grow in a can
on the store shelf??

Ok, so pun intended with the title of this post.    I went a little crazy at the farmers market this weekend.  The fruits and veggies always look so amazing, fresh and delicious in the  fall.  I bought baby corn (who knew they didn't grow in the can on the grocery store shelf??), Swiss chard, peppers (red, green and yellow bell peppers, and delicious poblano peppers) and beets (yellow beets, red beets and beet greens, oh my!).



Beets!   I have always enjoyed beets, but as a child, I only ever really had the canned ones (which are still good for you!).  While on summer vacation,  a friend of mine had bought some fresh beets from the local market and roasted them with dinner one night.  I couldn't believe how delicious they were!  When I saw them at the market last week, I had to buy and try them.  Yesterday,  I made a yummy dinner with some pork chops (breaded and pan fried with a lemon/garlic/white wine sauce), beet greens sauteed in garlic and a bit of olive oil, and oven roasted multi-coloured beets.  Add in some good bread and raw veggies and dip and it made for a fantastic, nutritious and delicious supper.

My children never cease to amaze me, and last nights dinner was no exception.  I am a true believer in not short-order cooking for my kids...whatever I cook for dinner is what's for dinner, you don't have to eat everything, but I do encourage that the kids try foods, and if they don't like it, then they don't have to eat it.  The kids were both willing to try the beets and the beet greens, and both my son and daughter really enjoyed them, and even went for a second round of the beet greens!  The best moment of last nights dinner?  When my son asked "what'd you season this with mom? Its delicious!".

It made the foodie / dietitian / mom in me smile from ear to ear!


Some nutritional benefits of beets:

• low calories and nutrient-rich (45 calories per 100 grams)
• contains antioxidants in the root (the bulb part) and the greens on top
• beet greens are rich in vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant
• top greens are an excellent source of flavenoid antioxidants and carotenoids which may help protect from some lung and oral cancers
• top greens are also rich in vitamin A, essential for maintaining healthy mucous membranes, skin and essential for vision
• and...did you know that Swiss chard is also from the beet family?  

You can't beet that!   

It's Official!

A quick happy blog entry to say that I am proud to be working at Health Stand Nutrition!   Check out the website and our bios!

Cheers!

www.healthstandnutrition.com