A new chapter

It must seem I'm fallen off the face of the earth with this blog. I'll admit, motivation has not been there, neither has there been the time to post. Blogging is so two years ago, LOL. Seriously though, I have wanted to post a few recipes here and there, but then the moment passes, I don't do it and I end up regretting that I "lost" the recipe I originally wanted to keep a hold of. After all, I know I use this blog more than anyone else.

 So I'm moving forward with what I have on my mind now, and that is a confession to make. Back in February I started Weight Watchers. I've never in my life done a "real" diet. When I've seen the scale creep up to the high end of my comfort zone I've always relied on myself to step up the water intake, bump up the exercise, and focus on eating whole foods. Not to mention laying off the dessert. It's always helped me get back in my comfort zone quickly. And being honest here, my comfort zone for the past several years has been a 5 pound range of 142-147. This seems to be where I landed years ago when I lost weight and it's where I've hung out for several years now.

 However, the scale was consistently hovering around the high end of the zone for a year, then started creeping up to the 150 mark. Yikes!! I swore I'd never see the 150's again. My old methods were not working (I'm not in my early 30's, after all) and I needed a real kick in the butt. I had turned a blind eye to my eating for so long and relied on working out to allow me to eat whatever I wanted. Bad idea.

 So, on Valentine's day I decided I had had it. I needed an intervention for myself and it needed to be a real plan, not just my own. I'd seen WW work for others so I knew it was legit. I decided to give it a real effort, setting a "goal" weight of 137. I figured if I really stuck to it, I could feel good about myself by bathing suit season. So I signed up for the online program and jumped into the world of "points." I decided I'd have my own rules, though. I refuse to count my 1-2 cups of coffee (with real 1/2 & 1/2 and agave). It's not sustainable to me to alter that long term. I also decided to not count wine, so long as it's up to two glasses a week. Beyond that I'll count it. I'll be honest, I hated the whole thing at first. Just the figuring out of it all was frustrating. I was hungry a lot. I felt like it was impossible to do life on only 26 points a day. But, as with most things new, once I figured out a system that worked for me, found food "finds" that I love, and watched portion control, I've grown to really like it. Or I at least think it's doable.

The weight has consistently come off each week, even on weeks where I felt I've blown it. I'm always surprised to see a weight loss after a weekend of social activity and eating out. I no longer feel guilty and puffy when I go to bed at night, and I feel more confident throughout the day. I'm definitely eating more whole foods and less of the "bad" stuff. Portion control and stopping when I'm satisfied have been a tough lesson for this Southern girl, but it's been a valuable lesson. Oh, and I've had to buy new jeans because my old ones are too big!

 And just today, I stepped on the scale and it said "139.2". I had to weigh myself repeatedly just to make sure it was right. I haven't seen the 130's in about 15 years! Yay!! Along the way I've found a few recipes that are weight watchers friendly and totally yummy. I wanted to make sure I posted these because truly, they're great whether you're watching what you eat or not. I hope these links work and that you don't have to be a WW member to access them. If you can't connect, please let me know!

  Arugula, roasted red pepper and white bean salad - I'm obsessed with this salad. It's amazing. I squirt a little fresh lemon juice over it and add a few of Trader Joe's marinated mushrooms. This is a salad you'll crave, I promise!

  Grilled meatball Kebabs - I added chunked pineapple to the kebabs and brushed on some Trader Joe's Island Soyaki marinade. My 7 year old even ate them!

  Mushroom Bisque - I really couldn't believe this was a "diet" recipe. So rich and creamy.

  Slow Cooker Greek Chicken Stew - packed full of good for you ingredients and flavor. She's got some great recipes on her blog. Also check out her Slow Cooker Pot Roast. She uses coffee and it really adds a depth to the dish. My aunt said it's the best pot roast she's ever had.

 Over time I'll keep adding to this list, but these are just a handful to get started!

Sweet potato chicken pot pie

This is a recipe I stumbled upon once and I've made it a couple of times. Let me say that I only use this recipe as inspiration. There's a lot about it that I don't do, such as I omit mushrooms, add a few other veggies not listed, and I don't make it in individual ramekins. However, I like the essence of this recipe and once I truly get a good flow of my own system down, I'll change this post up to have my own method.

Sweet potato chicken pot pie

The Nester's advice

This creative gal has blogged about her way of doing family meals each week. I like her ideas, and I especially like her idea for homemade bread!

Imperfect, do-able, flexible meal blue print

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This recipe comes from my dear Minnesotan friend, Kristine. She made this a couple of times when she lived with us and it's so hearty and warm and perfect for the season.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

½ cups Onion, finely chopped
½ cups Celery, Diced
2 cloves Garlic Clove, Pressed
½ cups Carrots, Peeled And Diced
1 cup white wine
5 cups Chicken Broth
2 cups Water
2 cups Shredded, Cooked Chicken
2-3 cups cooked wild rice
½ cups Flour
½ cups Butter
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1-½ cup Milk/Half-and-Half/Cream (your Preference)

1. In a large dutch oven, saute onion, celery, carrots, and garlic until softened. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with white wine and simmer until reduced.
2. Add broth, water, and chicken. Bring to a boil. Add rice. Cover pan and simmer on low.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in seasonings of your choice (salt, pepper, dried thyme, etc.) and mix together until bubbly. Lower heat and stir in flour. Add milk, whisking until fully incorporated. Cook until thickened, stirring occasionally.
4. Add cream mixture into the soup. Check seasonings and adjust as desired. Cook over medium heat until thickened and heated through–about 20-25 minutes.

Pumpkin soup with a bit of a kick

Autumn is in full swing here and it's a beautiful time of year. We've had some pretty cool nights and mornings and it's time to warm things up in the kitchen. I've tried several different pumpkin soup recipes, and this is my current favorite. This recipe yields a velvety, rich soup, with a smooth sweetness and a bit of a spicy kick, but not so spicy that it's hard to eat. Because of it's richness, it's best eaten by the cupful, served along with other foods to round out the meal. Perhaps a cool salad or half a sandwich? It will warm you, heart and soul! Plus, it's quite easy to throw together.

Pumpkin Soup with a kick.

2 Tablespoons Butter
½ whole Chopped Onion
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 15 oz. cans Pumpkin Puree
3 cups Water
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon Fresh Cilantro
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
½ cups Brown Sugar (or experiment w/ Agave nectar)
½ cups half and half (or coconut milk, almond mild...whatever you use for a dairy substutute)
½ teaspoons Ginger

Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium heat. Once melted, add the chopped onions and olive oil and saute for 5-10 minutes until onions begin to turn soft and you can see through them. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add pumpkin, water, and freshly cut cilantro and stir, mixing well. Cover and let simmer on low for about 10 minutes. Add cinnamon, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, half and half, and ginger and stir well. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes. Add additional spices as necessary to suit your tastes.

School night meals

School starts back tomorrow. As a homeschooling mom, I'm experiencing the opposite of what other mom's are gloating over..."Back to school, back to time for me! Finally, the kids out of the house! Free time!" Yeah, that's not exactly the road ahead for me, but I am thankful to be in a position to homeschool. I know I'm sewing seeds into my children that will hopefully bear much fruit. I'm getting time with them and they're getting more time with their family that can never be taken away. And *gasp*, I'm actually looking forward to sitting around the table, teaching and learning.
However, it means I have to be more intentional with my time. I'll now have to fight to get a workout in. Plan out grocery trips, errands, etc. Plan meals. We end up eating out way more in the summer. Fast food is more frequent and we have no real agenda, which results in less homecooked meals, or meals pieced together by what he happen to have in the freezer. Being at home in the school year allows for me to get back in the kitchen. But the meals need to be simple and easy.

So, I'm assembling some of my favorite weeknight meals. Ones that are simple. Notice I didn't say quick. Being home in the morning/afternoon affords me the opportunity to prepare something ahead of time (say, enchiladas, pasta sauce, ground meat for sloppy joes, crock pot meals, etc.) I can chop veggies while administering a spelling test. Saute onions and garlic for a pasta sauce while helping my son with math. Stuff a chicken w/ lemons, garlic and olive oil while the boys are taking a 15 minute reading break. You get the idea.

When I need inspiration while I'm planning our weekly menu, I'll check here for ideas. I'll continue to add to this when I see something that gets my attention, or if a friend passes along a good recipe, hint hint! I'd love hear your family's favorite simple weeknight meals. These are the basic meals...add to them an easy side of veggies and fresh fruit.

And in case you're wondering...no, I don't cook seven nights a week, or even five for that matter. I typically cook about 3 decent meals, eat leftovers a night or two, eat out a couple nights (sometimes just me and my boys when Davids' on the road), and forage through the pantry or freezer a night or two. We're flexible. My goal this year...get my husband to take over a meal once a week! We'll see how it goes!

Pasta night
Veggie pasta primavera
Easy eggplant parmesan over pasta with broccoli
Stuffed shells (from frozen section) with homemade bolognese or marinara sauce.
Pasta with chicken sausage

Chicken
Mango chicken
Italian chicken
Tex Mex bowls with grilled chicken and black beans
Chicken supreme
Parmesan chicken and rice casserole (using chicken breasts instead of thighs and half and half instead of cream, decrease broth to 1 cup, add a couple slices of bacon for more flavor).
Roasted chicken (save bones for broth)

Not-chicken
Roast beef salad with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette
Crock pot roast with veggies
Crock pot pork tenderloin (save leftovers for bar-b-q sandwiches another night)
Asian style braised short ribs
Beef stroganoff
Almost Thanksgiving: thick sliced cuts of deli turkey (Boar's Head Golden Catering is good), topped w/ gravy, cranberry sauce, side of sweet potatoes and green beans

From the sea
Lemon butter fish
healthier "fried' fish

Things with a bun
Burgers or dogs on the grill
Maple Bar B Q sloppy Joe's
Turkey burgers
Crock pot Bar-b-q chicken sandwiches, save leftovers for bar-b-q chicken quesadillas with smoked gouda cheese

Casual and fun
Quesadillas - Cheese, Shrimp & cheese, apples & cheese
Chicken fingers and veggies
Homemade pizza

Family Friendly Soups - make on Sunday to have for the week!
Super easy chicken tortilla soup
Tortellini soup
Pepper cheese chowder
Fresh vegetable soup
White chicken chili
Cauliflower soup
Cheesy chicken and rice soup

Easy Sides:
Sauteed green beans
Sugar snap peas
Super simple sweet potatoes
Baked potatoes, regular or sweet
Root vegetable bake - can also be used as a main, or over salad greens
Balsamic brussel sprouts
Turnips - ok, maybe not family friendly, but I LOVE them
sliced tomatoes in season
steamed broccoli w/ cheese
Frozen peas, carrots, green beans and corn, with a bit of butter and cream cheese
braised spinach or greens
angel hair pasta, tossed w/ butter, olive oil, parmesan and spinach

Simple desserts - I'm a fan of letting the kids figure out dessert for themselves. They can get really creative!
Fresh fruit, layered w/ lowfat vanilla yogurt, honey and granola
Ice cream!!
Mini chocolate pies - 6 pack miniature graham cracker pie crusts, fill w/ instant chocolate pudding, top w/ whipped cream
indoor s'mores (make in toaster oven)
easy banana pudding layering vanilla pudding, vanilla wafers, banana slices and whipped cream
chocolate quesadillas
toast with nutella, sliced strawberries or bananas and powdered sugar

A new addition to the pantry

If you've stepped foot into a health food store or the organic section of a larger grocery store, you've no doubt noticed the variety of oils available: grape seed, avocado, various nut oils...and coconut oil. At my favorite health food store of the moment, there's a large selection of coconut oils. Why would something that has had such a bad reputation in the past be sold at a store specializing in health? Perhaps because that something isn't actually bad for you.

Coconut products have been a hot topic among health nuts of late. If you've been paying attention, you've certainly heard the buzz on coconut water. You've probably heard mention of coconut oil as well. A friend recently told me that all she uses is coconut oil, even for sauteing vegetables. Several weeks ago I discovered I had but a few drops left of vegetable oil in my pantry. Vegetable oil is not something that gets a lot of use in my kitchen. When cooking or sauteing, I reach for olive oil, grapeseed oil, or butter. Vegetable oil is only used in my house for baking (which is something I only enjoy from time to time) and when David makes pancakes or waffles for the boys. I decided try out coconut oil in place of vegetable and just see how it works. I reasoned that it's not something that will get a lot of use, so what's the harm.
I decided on this product:


The first thing that took me by surprise is that coconut oil is in a solid form, much like shortening. I was told that when used for baking, just scoop out more than the amount you need, heat it until it's liquid, and then measure the amount you need just like you would with any other oil. This is exactly what I did when I made brownies using coconut oil. Whatever was left over I just poured back into the container and store the container in my kitchen cabinet. Now that it's stored in my kitchen it's in liquid form. I'm guess the temperature in my cabinet is warmer than the temperature in the store.

So...the brownies, my first cooking experience with coconut oil. I was thrilled to find that not only did the consistency turn out like normal, the taste was improved. Of course, I'm a coconut fan and love the flavor, but the coconut flavor is slight and not overpowering. The brownies definitely had a slight "mounds bar" flavor, without the shredded coconut texture that many people just can't get past. And my guess is that if you don't reveal the secret ingredient, people will never notice. So if you're serving someone with a definite coconut abhorrence, just don't tell them and see if they notice anything different.

My next experiment was to use coconut oil in lieu of vegetable oil for making a pie crust for my homemade chocolate pie. I served the pie on the 4th of July and got many compliments, particularly on the crust. I decided to let my family in on the secret ingredient. Not surprisingly, the reaction was mixed. Several folks were commenting on the saturated fat in coconut oil and the bad reputation it's had in the past. "Isn't coconut oil really bad for you?" was a comment that I heard several times. All I could say was that it came highly recommend from the health food store. This prompted me to do my own research. Turns out, there's tons of information out there on the health benefits of coconut oil. One woman I spoke with even takes a couple of spoonfuls of straight up coconut oil after each meal. She swears by it. I decided to give it a try for the next week or so, and see if I notice a difference. I'm starting with just one spoonful of oil after each meal. Honestly, it's not bad at all. The flavor is light and pleasing and it's not too "oily." Even after one day I can tell you that my energy levels have been up. That may be a placebo effect, but I'll take it over the lethargy I've been feeling for weeks.

I used coconut oil last night for frying up some veggies, and again, the flavor was wonderful. Slightly sweet.

Finally, I'll leave you with a few links so you can do your own reading on this product, but I wanted to highlight one section from a website which gets into the scientific nature of why coconut oil is better for you (and differs) from other oils.
The entire article can be found here:
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/article10013.htm

"HL How is it that not all saturated fats are unhealthy? Tell us about medium-chain fatty acids.
BF Fats and oils are composed of molecules called fatty acids. Three fatty acids joined together form a triglyceride molecule. Some fatty acids are smaller than others. Medium-chain fatty acids are smaller than long-chain fatty acids. Likewise medium-chain triglycerides are smaller than long-chain triglycerides. The size of these molecules is very important because our bodies process and metabolize each fat differently depending on its size. Most all of the fats and oils in our diet are composed of long-chain fatty acids, whether they're unsaturated or saturated. There are only a few dietary sources of medium-chain fatty acids, the primary source being tropical oils, particularly palm kernel and coconut oils. That's why coconut oil is different from other oils and it the secret to many of its healing properties.

Because the medium-chain triglycerides are smaller than the long-chain triglycerides that are in most fats and oils, they're digested quicker. In fact, they don't even need pancreatic digestive enzymes to break them down. By the time they enter the intestinal tract, they are completely broken down into free fatty acids, while long-chain triglycerides still need the digestive enzymes to break them down. What's important here is that the long-chain fatty acids, when they're finally broken down, will be absorbed through the intestinal wall. From there, they are packaged into lipoproteins and released into the bloodstream. So the long-chain fatty acids go into the digestive tract and then into the bloodstream. As they circulate in the bloodstream they supply the fat that collects in fat cells and the fat that collects in artery walls.

With medium-chain fatty triglycerides in coconut oil the process is different. They are quickly digested, so pancreatic enzymes are not needed. By the time they enter the intestinal tract they are completely broken down into fatty acids. Because of this, they are absorbed immediately into the portal vein, and sent directly to the liver. In the liver they are used as a source of fuel to produce energy. Therefore, they bypass the lipoprotein stage, and they don't circulate in the bloodstream to the degree that other fats do. Consequently, they do not supply the fat that collects in fat cells or the fat that collects in artery walls. They produce energy not body fat and not arterial plaque."

Other sites for your own research:
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/articles.htm
http://www.coconutoil.com/research.htm
http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/coconut_oil_facts.html