Jan. 1: Meal Planning 101

The key to eating properly is preparation. I find that most of us fall off the wagon when we aren't prepared. Hunger is a powerful motivator to grab something at Taco Bell's drive-thru. I find that if I make a bunch of basics all at once then there is always something to grab quicker than you can say "Happy Meal"!


This is a revamp of a post I wrote almost exactly a year ago - Jan. 2, 2010.  Clearly, this plan has worked for over a year for us!
Once a week I do a big food prep and usually there is a little more cooking once or twice a week. I like to have certain basics on hand so that I can put a meal on the table (or in the cooler) in a snap.

I always have the following items prepared because I can change up the flavors and have many different types of meals according to how the day is going:

soup stock 

baked brown rice (recipe below)

cooked chicken breasts

veggie steamer bags (instructions below)

ground meat (usually turkey or chicken, sometimes beef) (recipe below)

some type of salad

I always have these staples on hand:

canned beans

salsa

whole wheat pita bread

frozen corn

cilantro

yogurt

whole wheat pasta

canned spaghetti sauce

tomato juice and tomato paste

baby spinach

eggs

raisins
nuts

natural peanut butter

crackers

frozen fruits and vegetables

a nice organic granola


This is the stuff that works best for my family and our particular tastes.  You have to balance this out with your own family's favorites.  For example, f you detest yogurt, clearly that isn't a good option.

Steamer Bags of Veggies:

My kitchen would not be complete without steamer bags full of veggies. As soon as I get home from the grocery store, all veggies that are to be cooked over the week get washed and prepped for cooking (cut up, peeled, etc.) Then the veggies are placed in steamer bags with a sprinkling of Mrs. Dash or other seasonings. I always have several in the fridge to choose from. Right now in my fridge I have bags of : cabbage, broccoli, broccoli and cauliflower, cauliflower and carrots, asparagus, and green beans and carrots. They get nuked for 4-6 minutes and then are all set. (Note: in the winter when produce is very pricey and not so fresh, I substitute frozen veggies for fresh - you can still use the steamer bag method, or you can just nuke them in a covered dish.)

If I am in a hurry ( which is most of the time) I steam the veggies before adding them to the stir fry skillet - it really speeds things along!

Mexican Ground Meat

1 pound of ground meat ( lean beef, chicken breast or turkey breast)

1/4 cup diced onion

2 cloves of minced garlic

chili powder to taste

1/2 can of tomato paste (or a squirt of ketchup)

Saute veggies in a bit of olive oil. Add meat and cook until browned. Add chili powder and stir in tomato paste. Thin with water if necessary. Cook for a couple of minutes until blended. This mixture is good for a quick taco filling, spaghetti sauce, or chili. It is also good stirred into rice and topped with salsa for an all in one dish.

Baked Brown Rice

This recipe is a modified version of Alton Brown's Baked Brown Rice - you can check out Alton's version at this link.

1 1/2 cups of brown/wild rice mixture
2 1/2 cups of homemade stock (you can use an organic canned chicken broth - you don't want MSG!)

1 cup of baby spinach

1/2 cup carrots

2 cloves garlic

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375F. Bring stock to a boil on the stove. I use a pot that can go in the oven to make things easier. While boiling stock, put spinach, carrots and garlic into the food processor and pulse until it is coarsely ground. Add the veggie mixture and the rice to the pot and immediately put the lid on it to seal it tightly. Place this in the oven for exactly one hour and you will have a big pot of perfect fluffy rice.



I usually have my chicken breasts baking on the other rack in the oven at the same time.
With the rice you have a side that goes with any meal: Mexican, Chinese, Greek - it is very versatile. It's also delicious in a soup.

Here is a list of meals that can be quickly put together using the above foods:

 ~ chicken and broccoli stir fry over rice ~

~ rice and chicken skillet with salsa ~

~ pita sloppy joes with ground meat ~

~ spaghetti with meat sauce ~

~ Mexican meat and rice ~

~ chicken soft tacos ~

~ ground meat soft tacos ~

~ chili ~

~ chicken vegetable soup with rice or noodles ~

~ chicken cacciatore with pasta ~

~ pita pizza with chicken and veggies ~

~ chicken pita w/ tzatzki and veggies ~

~ Mexican pita pizza ~

~ garden salad with chicken ~

I hope this gives you a few ideas for meal planning and food prep. This system is working really well for us. It's family friendly and best of all, there is constantly good food ready and available.

 

Dec. 29: And more things to do with turkey.....

BBQ Pulled Turkey

1 serving per person of turkey breast

BBQ sauce of choice - I like the spicy/sweet ones

finely chopped onion, peppers, jalapenos (to taste)

In a microwave safe bowl, take two forks and shred the turkey breast until it's stringy.  Stir in your chopped veggies and BBQ sauce - I like to use enough sauce to cover the top layer of turkey.  Stir well and put the turkey in the microwave - heat for about two minutes per serving.

You can serve this on a bun, in a wrap or just on a plate with some salad on the side.  It's some yummy stuff and bears a strong taste similarity to something you've simmered all day long!

Tomorrow's recipe is going to be turkey noodle soup - stick around for it - so YUMMY!!!!

The holiday pounds are gathering and rejoicing on my tummy, giving me a really awesome muffin top in my work clothes.  You can imagine my delight.

The back issue is getting worse.  I've been to the doctor, who says she is as certain as can be that I have one or more herniated discs.  I declined the MRI because she said she would not be treating me any differently if I stuffed myself into that tiny claustrophobic tube.  I hate the helplessness of this - I'm starting to feel like a cripple - I hobbled around all day today and bear a rather strong resemblance to Quasimodo. 

I have some physical therapy exercises I can do to help, which is great - makes me feel like I'm actually accomplishing something. 

I'm using heat almost constantly, which relieves some of the pain.  The other options offered were heavy duty painkillers, epidural painkillers and a bunch of stuff I can't afford (massages, etc.)    I've chose to stick with ibuprofen because it dulls the pain to a tolerable level and I can still function.  No way are they shoving needles in my spine.  Just, ew.  Not gonna happen.  This isn't much of an update because there is simply nothing new to tell.

I hope all is well and you are enjoying your turkey!

Dec. 27: On the Second Day of Turkey my True Love Made for Me....

Okay, no true love - I made it for myself.  But I have two yummy turkey leftover dishes for you!

Turkey Caesar Salad

You will need:

~ A huge bowl of baby spinach
~ A serving of turkey breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
~ A handful of croutons of choice
~ Bacon (I use the Kirkland's bacon crumbles - kind of fattening but not as artificial as some stuff)
~ Freshly chopped minced garlic
~ Light Caesar dressing

Mix your salad dressing with the fresh garlic - this will give you a decadent, restaurant-style salad dressing (and very stinky breath).  Build your salad and stir well.  This is a super quick dinner!

Turkey "Fried" Rice

You will need:

A pot of baked brown rice
2 servings of turkey breast, chopped
minced garlic to taste
soy sauce
ginger
olive oil

I use  my cast iron skillet for this and I always make enough so I have leftovers for lunch the next day.

In your skillet, saute minced garlic in the olive oil until golden and fragrant.  Stir in your turkey and turn the heat up to high.  When things are really sizzling add some powdered ginger and soy sauce and stir well.  Then stir in 2 servings (based on your personal intake) of brown rice and mix well, cooking on high for about 2 minutes until the soy sauce is nicely caramelized on the mixture.

I serve this with steamed veggies and I top it with some spicy red pepper jelly that I got from Costco (so spicy/sweet and delicious!)

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Today I got so much accomplished.  I tackled my 10 year old's bedroom (shudder).  I took 4 garbage bags of stuff to the car to be donated tomorrow and 3 garbage bags full of, well, garbage, out of that room.  It's unbelievable what a disaster it is. 

I'm really trying to declutter and downsize - my car is loaded to the hilt with donations of bedding, towels, toys and kitchen items - this is all stuff I moved here in October that remained packed so I figure if I haven't needed it yet, I can live without it.

Hopefully decluttering my house will help me declutter my body.  I ate well today and felt much more energetic for it.  I'm back to work tomorrow and really have my fingers crossed that I will be able to stay on track.

Have a great week!

Dec. 26: Tons of Turkey!

Today my kitchen has been a turkey processing plant.  (Not in the yucky chemical way, of course!)

First, I sliced the remaining turkey breast and bagged up meal sized portions for the freezer.  I took the remaining dark meat and carcass and portioned it out between my two stockpots and my crock pot.  In each pot I added fresh whole cloves of garlic, a whole onion, a handful of carrots and a handful of spinach, as well as sea salt.  Then I covered the contents with water and simmered for 8 hours.  I was left with enough flavorful stock for 3 large pots of soup and 4 one-cup servings for cooking rice.  Then I removed the dark meat from the bones (an easy task after simmering for that long) and bagged up three 1.5 cup servings of the meat to add when I make soup.

I don't usually make a whole turkey but this has been a learning experience.  Leftover queen that I am, it thrills me to have such a full freezer!  I got the 17 pound turkey from my workplace. 

So what am I going to do with all that turkey? 

Top 10 things to do with Turkey

~ turkey noodle soup ~

~ turkey sandwiches ~

~ turkey Caesar salad ~

~ BBQ pulled turkey ~

~ smoked turkey and bean soup ~

~ turkey salad sandwiches ~

~ turkey fajitas ~

~ turkey stroganoff ~

~ turkey "fried" rice ~

~ turkey tetrazzini ~

I bet you can guess the basis for this week's meal plan!

Sunday: Turkey Caesar Salad
Monday: Turkey "Fried" Rice with Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday: Broccoli Soup (I might need a break from all that turkey!)
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Grilled chicken pizza with the kiddos
Friday:  New Year's Eve party

I'm kidless today and tomorrow - the girls have gone to their grandparent's house until Thursday.  I got up and went to the early church service and then did what little grocery shopping was needed this week.  I then packaged up all that turkey and managed to shove it into my thoroughly stuffed freezer and fridge, and the rest of the day will be spent purging and organizing.  (God bless the Flylady!)

I started a new blog today chronicling my financial issues.  Don't worry, it won't be as dismal as it sounds! There may be some cross-over, but anyone that is having, or has had, financial problems may be able to relate as I try to dig myself out of the hole and hide out from bill collection terrorists.  Check me out at Life in a Pinch.

I hope everyone continues to have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Dec. 25: Merry Christmas

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday ~ and that you are too busy with festivities to read this until tomorrow!

I was so excited that I woke my kids up this morning - I'm always like that on Christmas morning.  We (ahem...I) got up at 6:30 to open presents.

I got a ruffled shower cap, among other things, from my wonderful girlie girls.

My wonderful, award-winning 15 year old artist gave me a framed sketch.

My lovely daughters



We had a decadent breakfast of fresh-baked croissants, fruit, chocolate dip and honey butter.

I didn't get any pictures of the turkey, but it was lovely and delicious - I now have three pots of broth simmering away for any lean days ahead.  We will have some lovely turkey soup this week!

Lunch was roasted turkey, garlic green beans, and sweet potatoes - quite healthy until we got to the cookies and creme mousse cake for dessert.

Dec. 24: Holiday Guilt Edition

This year, what I want for Christmas is for women to let go of the holiday guilt.  Everywhere I turn, another great woman is running around like a maniac, stressing herself out to make cookies, buy presents, clean the house, prep dinner for 20 people, including 3 with different food allergies, all while holding down a full-time job.

Here is my little holiday list of things NOT to feel guilty about this year:

1.) Don't feel guilty about eating during the holidays.  It's a holiday.  You aren't going to eat hors dourves and a huge meal and dessert every day.  Let go and enjoy it.  You truly cannot eat enough during that one day to undo more than a week of progress - and that is a stretch.

2.) Don't worry about having a perfectly spotless house.  In the aftermath of the present-unwrapping frenzy, any vacuuming and carpet-deep-cleaning you have done will all be for naught anyway.  Try to content yourself with sanitary and generally tidy.

3.) Don't freak out about buying the "perfect" gift for everyone.  My kids, even at 10 and 15, are just happy to have stuff under the tree to unwrap.  If there is something they truly, desperately want, I try to make it happen.  If their wishes are general, they seem to be happy with just about anything.  The same goes for extended family as well.  Unless you have a snobby, ungrateful jerk in your family, they will be touched by the effort that you made.  And if you do have a snobby, ungrateful jerk in your family, don't worry about their opinion - it's tainted.

4.)  Every bite from your kitchen doesn't have to be "from scratch".  Gasp.  The heresy!!!  Well, here it is - I have frozen green beans for tomorrows meal and bought premade cheesecake for dessert.  Take that, Martha Stewart!  To top things off, my appetizers for Christmas Eve came straight from the freezer section of Costco.  Everyone loved the food and I only had to stick it in the oven and take it out on time.

And since this is a weight loss blog, I want to reiterate one point: let's talk food.

Christmas and Christmas Eve come but once a year.  If you have established healthy eating habits throughout the rest of the year, you won't be able to gorge yourself to the same extent as usual.  Furthermore, your taste buds will have changed and you may find the foods you crave are different than the ones you craved before.  But if every year, you eat Aunt Mae's homemade pierogies with bacon and sour cream, don't deprive yourself.  Eat what you want tomorrow and enjoy it.  The day after Christmas is soon enough to get back on plan.

Treat yourself kindly at Christmas.  You've worked hard and you deserve it.

Thank you for reading my blog - it rambles, it rants, and it sometimes whines but this outlet has helped me in so many ways over the past year.

My prayer for you all this Christmas is that you may find peace and contentment.  Have a wonderful holiday with those you care about.

Dec. 21: (off-topic) The Spaghetti Project

Everyone who knows me in "real life" knows how strongly I feel about giving - not just at Christmas, but all the time.  I'm going to veer off-topic for a weight-loss blog and talk about ways you can give without affecting your day to day life or your morning drive-thru coffee.  I don't mean to preach, but I do hope to influence.  This isn't about "religion" - it's about faith and love.

I've spent a few years recently being part of "the less fortunate."  As many of you know, I dealt with a horrible bout of depression that left me virtually incapacitated for over a year.  I had now choice but to go on welfare to feed my kids and keep a roof over our heads while I was unable to work.

Despite all of that - despite our lack of money - despite the loss of my house and car - I never actually felt "less fortunate."  We never went without food - maybe we had ground beef instead of prime rib, but we were certainly not hungry.  We had heat.  We had a place to live. We had medical care (God bless Canada!).  We still had enough that we were able to give, throughout it all.

How did we give when we were so broke?  At that time, every single time I went to the grocery store, I bought one package of pasta and one can of spaghetti sauce.  It cost $2.  There was never a grocery trip where I could not swing $2.  It might not provide a gourmet meal, but a package of pasta and a can of sauce could at least put some dinner on the table for a hungry family.

We also gave of our time - we helped elderly neighbors and people at church.  We helped by watching the small children of a woman that was ill.  My 10 year old pulled her wagon around the neighborhood and collected food donations for our local food bank.  My 15 year old unloaded all that food and volunteered at the food bank.

Fortunately for us, we have a higher income now.  We are able to give on a slightly bigger scale.  Now, by no means are we rolling in money.  We are still reeling financially from over a year without work.  The house is in foreclosure, bill collectors call constantly and I'll be bankrupt but next Christmas.   But it is all about how we prioritize the money we have now.

We participated in an adopt-a-family program at work.  I always tell my kids what the Christmas budget is per person so they can adjust their wish lists accordingly.  Not very sentimental, but we are a family of realists.  This year the budget for my girls was $100 each.  Both girls decided individually to forgo half of their gift budget so that they could buy gifts for the children of the family we adopted.  I was so ridiculously proud of them for this.  As a family we feel like we really made a happy holiday for another family less fortunate than ours.

I think that the key to giving is to feel content and joyful with what you have.  Everyday, I count myself thankful that despite the foreclosure and impending bankruptcy, we are warm, sheltered and clothed.  We have a fridge full of delicious healthy food.  We truly do not lack for anything.

I don't tell you about this to "toot my horn" - please don't think that! I write this because I hope to inspire others to give, no matter what their situation. I think the Lord works a lot of miracles at Christmas (and of course, the rest of the year) but sometimes He needs some earthly angels to help.