Aid for Japan

Yesterday marked the beginning of our week of eating food we already had to help out Japan. We went shopping together on Saturday morning to get the supplies to send overseas. I was disappointed at how NOT far our money went. But we still tried and hopefully the kids got something out of it.

(Is something wrong with my camera? Do these look blurry to you?)

So last night we just ate leftovers and tonight we had stir fry. The brown rice, ground turkey, soy sauce and green onions we already had, so all I had to spend money on was the Napa cabbage.

This morning Lincoln and I took our first bike ride of the season. It was beautiful!! The trees are all in bloom and the scent was heavenly. We did get chased by a dog, but that just made us go faster. Hopefully we can get back into the swing of two or more rides a week now that the weather is getting nicer.

A challenge!!

Or just something to think about.

As a family we were brainstorming ways we could do something to help the people suffering in Japan. The kids' school is collecting supplies that the U.S. Navy is then going to deliver directly to those in need. So we decided to get creative with our food next week. We have been looking through our pantry, food room and freezers for food we already have. Our plan is to eat from our storage and use all the money we are able to save out of the food budget to hopefully make a somewhat substantial donation. (Well, substantial is a relative term, but every little bit helps!)

So I thought I would turn it over to you as well. A challenge to my readers if you will. How many of you are willing to try to eat what you already have and sacrifice a little to help someone in need? It doesn't even have to be the people in Japan. Why don't we all do some good and see what comes of it!!

I'll let you know how it goes--I will do my minimalist grocery shopping on Friday, then we are taking a family trip to Wal-mart on Saturday morning to shop for supplies. Another way to be healthy is to serve others. I swear I heard that on a Kaiser commercial the other day. ;)

Chili-ghetti

Last night I modified a version of a recipe I've never tried before and it was a HIT. Everyone LOVED it--and it made a lot. So here is my version of Chili-ghetti (Adapted from a recipe from the cookbook Favorites, which is also one of my favorite cookbooks.)

1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
3/4 cup onion, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (32 oz.) can chili (I used Hormel 98% fat free turkey chili)
1 cup veggie puree (optional)
1 package whole wheat spaghetti noodles
2 cups grated reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Brown meat and onion; drain off fat. Stir in tomatoes, chili and puree. Simmer 45 minutes. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti; drain and set aside. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in grated cheddar until melted. Fold in sour cream. Mix with cooked spaghetti. Spoon into a 9x13 inch dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Rainbow Caterpillar Pancakes

I posted a picture of these on Facebook and got multiple requests for the recipe, so here it is. I used Swedish Pancake batter because it is a bit thinner and easier to "form" into the caterpillars. The pumpkin puree is optional or you could use another veggie puree. You also don't have to use any whole wheat flour--that is just important to me (for those of you new to the blog that don't already know that.)

4 eggs
4 egg whites
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
2 TBSP vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup white flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
food coloring

Mix eggs, milk, salt, vanilla and pumpkin puree with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and flour. Mix well. Divide batter into multiple bowls and add food coloring to make as many colors as you want. Carefully pour batter onto electric skillet making the pancakes touch. Flip very carefully when bubbles form.

Waffles!

We had a waffle party Friday night. I have the best. waffle. recipe. ever. Just sayin'. It might not be the most healthy recipe on the planet, but it is still so good. The secret is the yeast....

1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter (that's the not so healthy part--I should try to use a puree instead.)
1/4 cup honey
2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
3 eggs
1 TBSP yeast
1/2 tsp. salt

Heat the milk, water, butter and honey to 120 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, eggs, yeast, salt and warm milk mixture. Mix at low speed to moisten, then at medium-high for 1 minute. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Prepare in a waffle iron. We typically serve them with applesauce and cinnamon sugar--you don't want to cover up the yummy yeasty, whole wheat goodness. But, since this was a party, we went all out with Reddi-whip and fresh strawberries!

Big Brother is coming to a cafeteria near you...

I found this on Facebook and I am shocked. If I was in that school district, I would throw the biggest fit--right before I pulled my kids out of school and moved somewhere NORMAL. I cannot believe this!!!!!

Good foods

I've decided to get away from blogging about what I eat and how I work out every day (because really, HOW BORING) and focus more on what healthy things I make for the family and our family activities that lend themselves to a healthy lifestyle for all.

So this morning I made pancakes for the kids. After one bite, Isaac asked, "What did you do to these?!" Yes, they were that good. So here is my secret...I used the Bisquick Healthy Heart Mix and just mixed up the recipe on the box. But then I added pumpkin puree and used Vanilla almond milk for half of the milk and added 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder. They tasted like white cake! Seriously. Yum.
Tonight's dinner was spaghetti pie, which I have already posted a recipe for, but I have improved it a bit, so I wanted to post this new one (complete with a picture this time.) This is a HUGE hit at our house.
New and Improved Spaghetti Pie

1 box whole wheat spaghetti noodles
2 cage free eggs
1 24 oz. fat free cottage cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan/Romano blend
2 cups marinara
1/2 cup veggie puree
3/4 cup shredded mozarella
1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle half of the breadcrumbs on the bottom of the dish. In a large bowl, beat eggs, then add cottage cheese, Parmesan and veggie puree. Mix until blended.
3. Add spaghetti to cottage cheese mixture and stir until well coated. Transfer spaghetti mixture to prepared pie plate; top with marinara sauce. Sprinkle with mozarella, extra Parmesan and the other half of the bread crumbs.
4. Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

p.s. For those of you who don't know me, I should say that I don't keep my spending habits a secret from my husband! My "p.s." from yesterday was just a joke to see if he actually reads my blog...which he does! This morning he asked me what kind of swimsuit I bought. :)

More gardening

I literally dream about my garden at night...I am obsessed.

I started my potato cages on Friday, and planted the seed potatoes today. We are still trying to get the drip system all hooked up, but then we had a random snow storm on Sunday. Today it is gorgeous, though!

You make 3 ft. diameter chicken wire cages. Obviously I can't measure. One is 3 ft. the other is 1 ft. Oh well.

Fill them with good dirt and line with leaves or hay so the dirt doesn't all fall out.

Cut up your seed potatoes and let them sit out for a few days.

Plant them in the cages. Water. When they start to grow, cover them with more dirt. Keep filling it up with dirt throughout the season. Fingers crossed, at the end of the summer we will open the cages and be able to "watch the potatoes come tumbling out."

Today Lincoln and I also direct seeded our cold weather veggies--carrots and winter squash and started building fences to keep Kirby out of the garden.

And check out our cold weather seedlings!! The peas are huge. And our warm weathers have started sprouting, so things are moving along!! I am going to start hardening off the cold weather seedlings tomorrow to get them ready to plant around April 16th.


p.s. Don't tell Ryan... I broke down and bought myself a new swimsuit today. I am ready for summer!! ;)

Weekend food

I don't seem to consistently blog over the weekends. C'est la vie. It's probably because A) I am usually super busy and B) I am not as good at making smart eating choices as I should be. Oh well.

Here is some of the stuff I have been eating over the past few days...
My fabulous French Toast. Who would think that just two little slices of bread would keep me sooooo full for so long?! When I eat this, I'm not hungry again until 1 or 2 in the afternoon!!

Lunches...
Turkey wraps made with fat free turkey, tomatoes, spinach cucumbers, hummus and these--
Low carb tortillas! They have only 5 grams of carbs! A slice of bread has 20 grams, so this is a good way to get a low carb lunch.

Sunday night's dinner was fabulous:
Oven poached salmon with cucumber sauce, carrots and brown rice. (I'll have to post the recipe for this one!)

And then tonight's dinner was egg enchiladas--I only ate one. I had an altercation with some Sun Chips today and the Sun Chips won. :( I don't think I ever want to see another Sun Chip as long as I live.
Today's workout was great--I did upper body strength and then ran a mile on the treadmill this morning. Then I also did some speed intervals on the treadmill tonight and I'm planning to do elliptical right now as well. Obviously I'm still feeling sick/fat from my Sun Chip issue this afternoon.

Grilled Polenta

It's been a while since I made this and I thought for sure I had posted the recipe on here, but I went to search for it today and I couldn't find it. It's really yummy!!! I top it with sauteed veggies and marinara. I discovered it during my vegetarian phase--you could certainly add some grilled chicken or Italian sausage or even ground turkey into the mix for a delicious meal!

3 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. rosemary
1 cup cornmeal
2 TBSP butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
2 TBSP olive oil

Set aside a shallow baking dish. Bring the vegetable stock, salt and rosemary to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then gradually sprinkle in the cornmeal, whisking constantly. Cook the polenta, whisking all the while, until it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 7 minutes. Whisk in butter, Parmesan and mozzarella.

Scrape the polenta into the reserved baking dish and smooth over the top. Let cool for 10 minutes, then cover and chill at least one hour. (I just stick it in the freezer to speed up this process.) When you are ready to begin cooking, cut the polenta into 12 squares. Lightly brush each side with the olive oil and place the squares on a baking sheet. Grill the polenta on hot grill until golden brown on each side, about 10 minutes total. (You can also broil it in the oven if you want.) Serve with sauce.

The never-ending search for balance

I was thinking tonight as I made dinner for the rest of the family--I'm done. I gave South Beach a fair shot and saw no results. I have always been a very healthy eater and I don't want to feel guilty about eating a slice of whole wheat bread. Body for Life has worked for me in the past and it is all about the balance of healthy carbs and lean proteins. So now that I have tried giving up dairy, sugar, meat, carbs...what is left? Food in general? :)

Back to Body for Life I go. For me it's all about balance. At least until someone who knows something tells me differently.

The kids had "Peach Cobbler" for breakfast--canned peaches in juice mixed with granola, cornmeal and quinoa. Topped with vanilla yogurt.
I had eggs and veggies. It is a very filling breakfast.
My morning snack was celery and hummus.
And then for lunch all I wanted was a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. I decided to listen to my body and go for it. Whole wheat bread, all-natural pb and sugar free jelly, of course. I also had a few almonds on the side.
I had another South Beach bar for my snack. The rest of the family had roast beef sandwiches on whole wheat buns for dinner. I was left in a quandary--we were eating on the way to soccer practice, what veggies could I legitimately eat while driving? I had already consumed my carbs for lunch. I should have planned better, but my life is busy and hectic and it doesn't always work out the way I want it to. So I had a few slices of roast beef wrapped in a piece of cheese. And that is when I decided that I'm done.

So, this morning I got up and did Pilates. I got home from freezing to death at soccer practice and went down to walk on the treadmill at a steep incline to warm up. Now off to the elliptical.

Summer is coming!!

I keep getting summer catalogs in the mail. I am so excited for the summer! It's kind of ironic though, as much as I hate what I look like--I keep wanting to buy all these swimsuits. I don't even swim that often.

I got up first thing this morning and did my lower body workout and ran/walked at an incline for 10 whole minutes beyond that before Lincoln woke up and found me.

Today for breakfast I made the kids bread pudding with added pumpkin puree and then I ended up just joining them for breakfast. So that was my carbs!! At least I make it healthy.
Lunch was more leftover pork tenderloin salad and then I tried a South Beach bar as my afternoon snack. It was good, but only 12 grams of protein.
(Except this picture from the internet says it has only 6 grams. Huh.)

For dinner I made the family Chicken Enchilada Casserole (I'll post the recipe.)

There were too many tortillas in it for me, so I just sauteed beef, pork and spaghetti squash, zucchini, summer squash, and green beans in the dressing from the pork salad.
Tasty! Then tonight it has been 20 more minutes on the elliptical.

Now I'll go look at more catalogs and wish I was rich. And tiny. :) Maybe I'll look at the catalogs while I do more elliptical...