So about that Wheat Belly diet...

It's stupid. While some people swear by it, I just can't. I made it a little more than a week. Over the course of that week, here's what I learned:

1) I really don't eat that much bread or pasta anyway. Adding a menial amount of crushed crackers or bread crumbs to one of my recipes is not preventing me from losing weight. Nor is one bowl of protein and fiber packed steel cut oats in the morning.

2) More veggies are good. I actually love vegetables to begin with - especially when they're fresh - and I have been making more of a conscious effort to make more of them since I started this a week ago. So that's a plus.

3) Shiritaki noodles are disgusting. I didn't actually eat them because the smell was so rancid (the package actually tells you to boil or microwave the noodles first to help weaken the "natural aroma" of these nasty things). They smell like chemicals.

4) I just can't do "diets". Just knowing that I couldn't have something only made me crave it. So yes, I totally failed.

Well, at least I tried it, right?

Day 4

I suck at life when I'm sick. For the first time ever, I completely burned dinner. As in, charred and black. I can't even tell you what happened so I'm going to blame it on the fact that I can't smell and my head feels like a water balloon.

Waiting for hubs to get home from work to see what he wants to do about this - my guess is that he'll seize this opportunity to grab some takeout. Fail.

Anyway, the rest of the day was okay. I was craving snacks today - nothing in particular, but I wanted something crunchy. Good thing I threw out all of the chips and chex mix!

Breakfast: 4 small wheat-free, gluten-free toaster waffles courtesy of Trader Joe's. Not so great since they do have potato starch, but I still avoided the wheat.

Lunch: Leftover minestrone soup.

Dinner: Was supposed to be maple pecan crusted chicken with a side of roasted brussels sprouts (those came out just fine) but now it's TBD.

Drinks: Tons of water and tea.

Snacks: I think I had 2 or 3 oranges (I bought an 8 lb bag at Whole Foods for $6 so I'll be eating these for a while!) I also had one square of chocolate.

Overall: Definitely not my best day and I'm only 4 days in. Like I said earlier, my head feels like an overfilled water balloon so I had zero desire to cook breakfast this morning. And as for dinner, I haven't even cleaned it up. I just want it to go away so I can go to bed.

Minestrone Soup

This soup is so easy to make and is a great way to get rid of those veggies in your fridge that are looking a little...well, less than fresh.

Being sick and exhausted, I did this as quickly as I could. There's a lot you can add to this soup (zucchini, fresh green beans, kidney beans, ground beef or turkey, tiny pasta, etc.) but I kept it simple this time.

Ingredients:

• 1 large (or two medium) yellow onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 stalks of celery
• 4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced. Or you can use a few handfuls of chopped baby carrots - I never measure these out. I just add however many I want)
• 5 cups beef broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes (I don't drain them)
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Palmful of italian seasoning

Directions: 

• In a medium-large soup pot, saute onion, garlic and celery until softened in vegetable oil. 
• Stir in the broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper and seasonings. Bring to a boil. 
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer for one hour. 

If you want to add zucchini, beans, pasta, add after one hour and then simmer another 20 minutes before serving. 

If adding ground beef or turkey, cook the meat first and then add with the zucchini, beans, etc. 

Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Day 3

The cold that my husband and J have been fighting off finally hit me at about 3:30 this morning. My head feels like it weighs 100 lbs and my throat is killing me. The fact that J is non-stop on the go is not helping anything. Did I mention that she's climbing things now?

Anyway, while it would be easiest to either skip meals or have my husband bring home takeout, I'm determined to stick to this Wheat Belly thing.

Breakfast: 1 egg yolk, 2 egg whites scrambled with a handful of fresh baby spinach and one slice of swiss cheese. 1/2 avocado and a piece of wheat free focaccia with some cream cheese.

Lunch: One piece of leftover sweet potato kale pizza from last night (my husband normally steals all of the leftovers but he wasn't a fan of this pizza.)

Dinner: I managed to whip up a quick batch of Minestrone soup this afternoon. Sorry, no pictures of the process today.

Snacks: I ate two or three oranges in hopes that they'll help fight this off.

Drinks: Copious amounts of water and tea with honey.

Exercise: Nope

Overall: I feel like crap. J is napping now which is just enough time for me to get this post done and go close my eyes for a bit.

Until tomorrow.

Sweet Potato Kale Pizza

I've made this recipe a few times in the past so I've kind of perfected it. Although tonight, I made it using a wheat free pizza crust and not only was it delicious, but it was filling (I had two slices).

Ingredients:
Pizza Crust

• 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Baking Mix
• 4 cups almond meal/flour; 1 cup ground golden flaxseeds; 1/4 cup coconut flour; 2 tsp baking soda - mix everything together. This makes enough all-purpose baking mix to last a few days.
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp EVOO 
• 1/2 cup water 

Topping

• 2-3 medium sweet potatoes
• Shaved parmesan cheese
• Fresh kale

Materials:

• Pizza stone (I have the large white stone and am obsessed with it!)
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Pizza cutter
• Mix n' Scraper
• Electric hand mixer

Directions: 

• Peel potatoes, slice and boil until fork tender. Drain when finished and return to pot. Using an electric hand mixer, whip the potatoes. Add a splash of EVOO to give them a smooth consistency (making them easy to spread).
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
• To make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the baking mix and mozzarella cheese. 
  
• In a small bowl, mix together the egg, oil and water. Pour into the flour mixture and combine thoroughly.
  
• Lay the dough on the pizza stone and, with moistened hands (I added some water to the bowl which had the dough in it so that I could dip my fingers/hands as needed), press into a 12" circle, forming an outer edge. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350. 
  
• Spread the whipped sweet potato on the crust. 
  
• Add parmesan cheese (I have tried a few cheeses/cheese blends and find the parmesan works the best with the sweet potato and kale) to taste. 
  
• Top with a generous amount of fresh kale, ripped into small pieces. 

• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and kale is crispy. 

Enjoy!

Herbed Focaccia

It made me happy to find a bread recipe in the Wheat Belly cookbook. Like, really happy. It made me even happier when the bread turned out good. So here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups All-Purpose Baking Mix
• 4 cups almond meal/flour; 1 cup ground golden flaxseeds; 1/4 cup coconut flour; 2 tsp baking soda - mix everything together. This makes enough all-purpose baking mix to last a few days. 
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar because that's all I had in the pantry)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 tsp xanthan gum (optional) - I have no idea what this is so I didn't use it

Materials:

• Large pizza stone (I have it in white - LOVE this!)
• Spring coil whisk
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cup
• Pizza cutter

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• In a large bowl, place the baking mix. (I added 2 Tbsp ground rosemary, 1 tsp dried oregano and 1 tsp of garlic powder here).
  
• In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, water, xanthan gum (if desired), and salt. Add to the baking mix and quickly mix together. Let sit for 1 minute, then add the whisked eggs and mix together thoroughly. 
  
  
• With moistened hands, place the dough on the stone and shape into an 8 x 12 rectangle. 
  
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until slightly browned. 
• Using a pizza cutter, cut into pieces and store in the refrigerator. 
  

Davis notes that "the sequence of adding the ingredients specified...must be followed as written to avoid the common "baker's ammonia" effect, the result of adding baking soda in the baking mix reacting with the proteins in the eggs, generating an ammonia smell, which is unpleasant. When you add the vinegar first, the acetic acid in the vinegar will react with the baking soda, preventing the reaction with the egg."

Day 2

It's day 2 of my new Wheat Belly lifestyle.

Baby J is still sick - her cough and snot bubbles are breaking my heart - and up a lot at night. So there was no running or gym for me today because I just couldn't get my butt out of bed at 6am (I had been up from 3:20-4:00am).

My second wheat free day looked like this:

Breakfast: Leftover steel cut oats and raisins

Lunch: Cream of mushroom soup with a piece of herbed focaccia bread (wheat free)
             *This soup wasn't bad, but I just didn't love it so I'm not going to bother posting the
               recipe. If you really really want it, shoot me a message and I'll post it.

Dinner: Sweet potato kale pizza

Snacks: Orange

Drinks: morning cup of coffee, ice water

Exercise: None unless cleaning the house counts for something.

Overall: I'm really terrible when it comes to lunch. If I'm not going out to lunch or if there are no leftovers in the house, I usually won't sit down and have a healthy lunch. Today I popped over to the library and I swear I heard Chick-fil-a calling my name on the way home. It's just so easy! And as for leftovers, those are hard to come by during the week since the hubs always takes them to work.

So if I can make it a point to eat a healthy lunch every day, I will consider myself successful.

Pork Fried "Rice"

This recipe is from the Wheat Belly 30-Minute (Or less!) Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, broken into large pieces
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, divided
• 4 scallions, sliced (I swore I bought these, but I guess I didn't. So I left them out)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/4 cup tamari or gluten-free soy sauce (I used tamari)

Materials:

• Executive cookware stir-fry skillet
• Manual food processor
• Bamboo spatula set
• 5" Utility knife
• Large grooved cutting board
• Garlic press

Directions:

• Using the manual food processor, shred the cauliflower. Place in a microwaveable bowl. Cover and microwave for 4 minutes, stirring once, or until desired doneness. 

  

  Cauliflower after going through the food processor

• Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in the stir-fry skillet. Cook the scallions and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and stir continuously until cooked through and slightly browned. Remove the egg mixture to a bowl and set aside. 
• Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil to the skillet. Cook the pork, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in the tamari, steamed cauliflower, and the reserved egg mixture. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes, or until heated through. 

*I was going to add carrots for some reason but decided against it. So they are in the picture, but not in the finished product. 

It was delicious. Enjoy!

Day 1

Hi. I'm Chunky McChunkerson. And looking at these pictures up here, on the world-wide web, makes me give real props to my husband. I gather that I need not explain why. 

Day 1 of my Wheat Belly experience

This picture is easily the most personal thing I have ever put on this blog. And the fact that this is out there now scares the crap out of me. But it's the real deal. 

This is me. I am just under 5'8, and this is 8 months and 4 days after having a baby, and 4 days after the end of the holiday season. I'm not proud. 

Today I cleaned out the pantry, fridge and freezer. Among the refuse was: a dozen and a half New York bagels (ouch), a bag of pretzels, Doritos (NOT MINE!), Chex-Mix and Asiago Cheez-its (those were all mine). Looking at it reminded me of what I said to my mother a few days ago: "I don't eat junk food so I don't understand why I'm so fat". I actually believed that I didn't eat junk food, and yet there it was sitting in my pantry (none of it unopened). 

Then I set to work creating a cleaner kitchen. Last night I went through the Wheat Belly Cookbook and flagged all of the recipes that sound good (I am going to be sticking to the cookbook recipes until I get used to cooking wheat free meals), so this morning I started testing some of them out. 

*Actually, I'm lying - I made Pork Fried "Rice" last night and it was surprisingly delicious. 

Here's what my day looked like today:

Breakfast: Steel cut oats (not sure if these are on the "do not eat" list since I haven't gotten far enough into the book yet. But I've heard that steel cut oats are really good for you so I'm running with that for now) that I had cooking in the crock pot overnight. I added just under 1/4 cup of organic raisins. It was filling and satisfying.

Lunch: Leftover pork fried "rice". This recipe uses shredded cauliflower as a substitute for rice and honestly, even my husband was amazed at how much it worked. 

Dinner: Roasted, herbed pork tenderloin (leftover from last night as only half of it was used for the fried rice recipe) with sautéed green beans. 

Snacks: I grabbed two oranges earlier in the day and had a piece of chocolate after dinner...yes, chocolate. 

Drinks: I had my morning cup of coffee but drank strictly ice water throughout the rest of the day. 

Exercise: I took the dog on a two mile walk this morning. I went and actually joined the gym today with intentions of going to classes on days I don't run. However, Baby J is sick right now and therefore up every three hours. Mommy isn't getting any sleep let alone exercise. 

Overall:  At no point today did I feel hungry. I did feel tired, but I attribute that to lack of sleep due to J's cold. Do I think this is doable? Yes. Right now I am feeling optimistic. 

Wheat Belly

A few months ago, one of my best friends started raving about what I immediately thought was the newest fad diet. Isn't eliminating carbs the Atkins Diet? And I'm pretty sure that in the long term that didn't work out well for most people (I heard that as soon as carbs were reintroduced people ballooned).

Long story short, she told me that another friend of hers started following the plan to a "T" and swears that her life has been completely changed. My friend doesn't follow it as strictly - allowing herself little indulgences here and there - and she still looks fantastic and also swears that, overall, she feels amazing; that not only has the weight been melting off, but she has more energy and rarely feels lethargic.

Now, as for me, I've never been able to really follow diets very well. I briefly entertained starting the Dukan Diet (even bought the book) but only because I read somewhere that that's what keeps Kate Middleton so thin. I never read it.

The Wheat Belly Diet freaks me out. When I eat at restaurants, I love the bread. And while I rarely eat pasta, sandwiches or breakfast cereal, I adore waffles and french toast casserole. Eggs benedict, served on their toasty little English muffins, bagels and pizza are also some of my best frenemies.

The problem is that it shows. I am about 40 pounds heavier than I would like to be, and all I see when I look at pictures of myself is a bakery. Buns and rolls galore. Although I'd love nothing more than to fit back into my size 4s, I clearly haven't wanted it badly enough since I just bought a new pair of size 8 jeans. The holidays didn't help and I haven't gone for a run in over two weeks (there was no way I was running in 30 degree weather).

With that being said, I am giving Wheat Belly a try. I just borrowed the book and the cookbook from my library and will be cracking them open today.

Before I start, here are my chief concerns:

1. Wheat is in everything. This is going to be too hard for me to really follow.

2. Cooking is now going to require all sorts of funky ingredients that I'll be lucky if I am able to find in Whole Foods.

3. Food is going to taste like cardboard.

4. My husband is a picky eater. While he's the first to promote healthy eating, his reaction is usually less than pleased when I do make healthy meal ("meh, it's okay. It's healthy" which translates to "yuck").

Hopefully I can make this work. I'm not going to give myself a time frame, but I will document my experience here including when I cheat (because I am bound to cheat at some point). I am starting today - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - so Sundays will be my weigh-in days. Ultimately, I need a lifestyle change if I am going to be successful.

So I guess let's consider that one of my New Year's Resolutions: instead of the banal "lose weight" I will say "I am going to change my lifestyle". Here goes nothing!

Tex-Mex Quinoa Bake

Every so often my husband and I like to mix it up and go vegetarian for a few days. I feel like it cleans out my whole system (there may be absolutely zero truth to that, but that's how I feel). Anyway, although it looks like birdseed, quinoa is both protein- and fiber-rich and this recipe actually makes it taste great. I found this in my September 2014 issue of Clean Eating Magazine.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil cooking spray (I used Safflower Oil)
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed (I used the multi-colored quinoa and rarely rinse because I'm lazy)
• 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp sea salt, divided (I used kosher salt)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small, sweet onion, finely chopped (this manual food processor is my FAVE for chopping onions!!!)
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped (sometimes I use different colors because it's fun)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels (I used a can)
• 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 oz shredded Mexican cheese blend of a mix of half cheddar and half Jack cheese (about 1 cup packed)
• 1/4 cup packed chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I usually have this on hand when I make this dish because I make fresh guacamole to go with it. However, I've made it without and it is still good)

Tools Used:

• Manual Food Processor 
• Executive 12" Skillet 
• Bamboo Specialty Cooking Set

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Stir in quinoa and 1/2 tsp salt. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cumin and coriander, and stir gently to combine.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet on medium-high, heat oil. Add onion, bell pepper, black pepper, and remaining 1/8 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned (about 8-10 minutes). 
• Add corn and 1/4 cup water (I don't add the water when using canned corn which is most of the time) and simmer until most of the liquid evaporates and the corn is heated through, about 3 minutes. 
• Add black beans and cook, stirring occasionally until heated through, about 1 minute. 
  
• Add mixture to the bowl with cooked quinoa and stir gently to combine. Stir in 3 oz cheese and cilantro.
• Transfer quinoa mixture to a baking dish and sprinkle remaining 1 oz cheese over top. Bake until cheese is melted, 10-12 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes before serving. 
  

  

  
• Top with freshly made guacamole and enjoy!

Apple Crisp

You've never really tried apple crisp until you've had this recipe.

This is another dessert I made for Thanksgiving and really, this should be as much of a Thanksgiving staple as the turkey.

You're welcome!

Ingredients:

• 8-10 apples, thinly sliced and peeled using the apple peeler/corer/slicer tool. You can also grab the stand if you want to make your life really easy. 
• I mix them up. I use some golden delicious, some granny smith and some gala. Or whatever else says good for baking.
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick of butter (melted)
• Lemon juice
• Vanilla 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• After you've peeled and sliced the apples (make sure to discard seeds, stems and cores), sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice and dump into a your rectangular stone baker. This time, I actually just used a foil tin thing because I doubled the recipe. 
  

  
  
• In your classic batter bowl, mix sugar and flour together. Then add eggs and mix well. The mix will be a little lumpy.
  
• Sprinkle the mix over the apples, doing your best to cover all of them. 
• Drizzle the melted butter over the apple/flour/sugar mix.
  
• Sprinkle a small amount of vanilla over the mix (no more than a tablespoon or so).
  
• Sprinkle cinnamon over the entire thing - as much as you'd like. I really cover mine. 
  
• Bake for 45-60 minutes. 
• Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Congratulations - you have now experienced a little bit of heaven on earth. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I know I did. 

We spent Turkey Day this year at my aunt and uncle's house (which meant NO leftovers...sob...) and I put myself on dessert duty. One of the desserts I made were these yummy pumpkin cranberry cookies that my mom made when I was a kid. They're supposed to be jumbo cookies (hence the crazy amount of ingredients) but I just made several batches of regular sized globs of goodness. No joke - this recipe made about 5 dozen cookies!

So here you go:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 2 cups uncooked oatmeal
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter (softened)
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups cooked pumpkin (I used canned instead. 2 cups is slightly more than one whole can)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tsp vanilla

Pampered Chef Tools Used:

• Classic Batter Bowl
• Easy read measuring cup
• Large mixing bowl (not pictured)
• Measuring Spoon Set
• Mini Nylon Serving Spatula
• Mix 'N Scraper
• Medium Bar Pan (I should have used the large because of the amount of cookies I made!)
• Medium Stainless Steel Scoop
• Stackable Cooling Rack Set (not pictured)
• Silicone Oven Mitts

Pampered Chef Kitchen Essentials

The tools I listed above really are essentials - things that every cook should have in his/her kitchen. The reason I love Pampered Chef is that their stuff lasts FOREVER. Seriously - I have a few tools (one being a batter bowl) that are almost ten years old. I've never had to replace anything unless I wanted to. So it is definitely safe to say that your money is well spent.

And can we please talk about stoneware? I mean, I'm a stoneware newbie but WOW! Talk about even cooking. I swear that everything I cook in or on my stoneware comes out perfectly. I have my eye on the Deep Covered Baker next ;)

Okay, back to the cookies! 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Combine oats, flour, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside
  
• Cream the butter. Gradually add sugars and beat until light and fluffy 
• Add egg and vanilla. Mix well (I ended up using an electric mixer here)
  
• Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. 
  
  
  
  
• Stir in cranberries. 
• Drop scoops onto the bar pan (they don't have to be spaced far apart since they don't expand much)
  
• Bake 20-25 minutes (I baked each batch for 22 minutes).

Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

Mmmmm.....comfort food. 

This is a great recipe because you can pretty much use what you already have in your fridge or freezer. I had celery and carrots that weren't looking so pretty anymore, so this is what I came up with. 

I don't always measure things out but I think I kept pretty good track with this one. 

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut up with my new favorite tool - Pampered Chef's Professional Shears
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 onion (I never chop these by hand. I use my amazing manual food processor)
• Salt and pepper
• Two frozen, deep dish pie crusts (because I absolutely hate making pie crust from scratch). I took them out of the freezer just before I started cooking and they were perfectly defrosted by the time I was ready to use them.
• 1 1/3 cups chicken broth
• 1 stick of butter
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

You can add whatever floats your boat - peas, potatoes, corn, whatever. I prefer to stick to plain old onion, carrots and celery. 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Chop everything up. Season chicken pieces with some salt and pepper.
• Add butter (1 Tbsp at a time - I think I used about 4-5 Tbsp) to 12" executive skillet  until melted. 
• Sautee onion, carrot, celery and chicken in butter until cooked (add more butter if necessary).
• Once the chicken is fully cooked, move the mixture into one of the pie crusts using a scoop 'n drain.
• I put the pie on a baking sheet just in case anything bubbles out while cooking.  

• In the same skillet, make a rue (this is 5 Tbsp butter plus 1/3 cup flour and whisk into a clumpy mess. See top left picture)
• Add chicken broth and milk to the rue (top right)
• Whisk over medium heat until nice and thick (bottom left)
• Pour the thickened mixture over the chicken mixture in the crust. You may not use all of it - I had some left over that I discarded (bottom right)

• Take the second pie crust and loosen the edges. Drop it on top of the filled crust and let it sit there for a minute or two. I think the heat from the bottom crust will help loosen the top just enough so it falls right out. 

• Using pre-made pie crusts doesn't yield you the most beautiful of creations, but it works. Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crust together. 
• Put in the oven for 30 minutes. 
• When it's done, let it sit for 5-10 minutes (my husband couldn't wait and cut into it before I even had a chance to take a picture of the finished product!!! I was putting J to bed. But you get the gist.)

Enjoy!

Turkey Meatloaf

I have a real issue with meatloaf. I just don't think that any meat should be in the shape of a loaf. Gross. 

However, my mom made us a delicious turkey meatloaf when I came home from the hospital with Baby J and I have been making it ever since (although I still shudder when I dump it into the pan). 

This is a quick and easy dinner to make and the leftovers are yummy as well. So I figured I would share this one with you (I forgot to take a picture of the finished product but it's just a meatloaf covered in a red sauce).

Ingredients:

Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey

3/4 cups crushed Ritz crackers

1/2 cup milk

1 onion (finely diced) 

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 cloves minced garlic (I just use a scoop from a jar)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease loaf pan

2. Mix all of the meatloaf ingredients together (mixing by hand is the grossest but best way to do this - and since I had my hands in it, I have no pictures of the process).

3. Pour into the loaf pan and pat into a loaf

4. Bake meatloaf in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. 

5. After 30 minutes, remove the meatloaf from the oven and drain whatever juices are in the pan. 

6. Pour sauce over the meatloaf and return to the oven for an additional 30 minutes. 

My favorite sides to serve with this are green beans and mashed potatoes. Yum!

Enjoy!

Chicken Lemon Soup

It's autumn back in New England which means that I probably would have already made this soup a dozen times or so. 

After moving in Florida, I actually felt sad when I thought it would be hot all the time because I wouldn't be able to make this soup. It's so delicious and it is my husband's favorite. So you can imagine my excitement when the temperatures down here have dipped into the upper 50s. It's super easy to make, so here is the recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot (I put crinkle cut carrots in mine this time because they're what was in the fridge).
• 2 Tbsp butter (I find I always end up needing more)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cans low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup cooked chicken (I buy whatever is on sale, cook it and throw it in here. I've also used a rotisserie chicken when in a hurry as well as leftovers)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp white wine (optional - and I think I've only added this once or twice)
• Lemon pepper seasoning to taste

Directions:

• In a large pot, sauté carrot, onion and celery in butter until tender (picture 1 - top left) 
• Stir in flour until blended (should be thick and clumpy; picture 2 - top right)
• Slowly stir in broth
• Add rice (oh yeah I forgot about that. I never add rice anymore), chicken, salt, pepper and garlic (picture 3 - bottom left). I also dump in tons of lemon pepper seasoning here. This is a soup that my husband and I both like with a lot of extra added flavor. So I typically load up.
• Bring to boil
• Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for around 15 minutes (sometimes it goes longer if I'm busy doing something else. If this happens, just make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot as you stir.)
• Reduce heat to low and add milk, lemon juice and wine (if using). Cook 5-10 minutes more and serve (picture 4 - bottom right).

Chicken Lemon Soup

I've doubled and tripled this recipe and have made it so many times that I rarely measure anything out. Even the veggies - I think I did 1/2 an onion, 2 celery stalks and a handful or two of carrots. 

It's a hearty, creamy soup that everyone will love. I would have let Baby J try it out but I put way too much lemon pepper seasoning in there. Maybe next time I'll stick to the actual recipe so she could try it. 

Enjoy!

Asian Chicken Stir-Fry

This yummy meal has been added to our rotation!

Note: This lo-mein type recipe makes A LOT of food. We had leftovers for almost a full week.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 package sliced white mushrooms
• 4 green onions
• 3-4 large chicken breasts (off the bone, skin removed)
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 3 Tbsp Asian seasoning mix, divided
• 12 oz uncooked angel hair pasta, broken into thirds (I actually used a little more)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves (or a spoonful of minced garlic from a jar)
• 3 cups fresh broccoli florets

Directions:

• Wash and chop red bell pepper and green onions. Set aside.
• Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces and mix with 1 Tbsp of canola oil and 2 Tbsp Asian seasoning. 
• Heat remaining oil in  a non-stick skillet or wok (I have the Pampered Chef stir-fry skillet which I LOVE!) over medium-high heat until simmering. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken and set aside.
• Add pasta to the skillet and toast until brown. Stir and turn gently, and watch very carefully.
• Push pasta to one side of the skillet. Add stock, peanut butter, soy sauce, and garlic. Stir until peanut butter is incorporated. Mix pasta into sauce.
• Add bell pepper, green onions, mushrooms, broccoli, and remaining 1 Tbsp Asian seasoning. Stir together.
• Cover and bring to a boil (I added more pasta so it was hard to tell when boiling so I just cooked until the mushrooms and broccoli were done).
• Stir in chicken and cook until heated through. Toss together and serve!

*The next time I make this, I may try adding some garlic chili sauce or crushed red pepper to spice it up since we enjoy spicy foods in our house. I'm not sure how it would taste especially with the peanut flavor, but I would add it in with the stock, peanut butter, soy sauce and garlic. 

Imagining my dream kitchen.

When I got married, one of the "warnings" I received from my mother-in-law was that my new husband was a notoriously picky eater. He didn't really stray from chicken cutlets or meatloaf. When I thought about it, I realized, Wow! He really did always order the same things when we went out to eat - chicken parmesan and caesar salad. How had I never noticed this? I responded by saying that  he'll either eat what I make or fend for himself. That first year of marriage, my husband ate a lot of Wendy's for dinner.

It wasn't because I was a bad cook. Actually, I'm pretty good at it. I happen to love cooking. I enjoy trying new recipes or altering others to make them my own. And when I get a new kitchen gadget or baking sheet, forget about it. I'm cooking up a storm. My husband just had an aversion to trying new things (one that he has since overcome).

As someone who loves cooking, one of the things I am most looking forward to in the next 1-2 years is building our new home. I cannot WAIT to build my dream kitchen. I already know that I don't want to go the traditional granite/stainless steel route, which is being phased out anyway. One of my friends just started her own interior design business and I have already given her the task of helping me design my new kitchen around this gorgeous jewel toned appliance from BlueStar. I mean, seriously, just LOOK at this stove! You can build yours here.

 From the BlueStar Jewel Tones Collection in Topaz

While searching for elements for my dream kitchen, I came across BlueStar's All Star Chefs and some of their favorite recipes. I decided to teach Baby J how to bake her daddy's favorite snack: Ryan Scott's chocolate chip cookies (actually, they're his mom's chocolate chip cookies). Yes, she's only 6 months old but why not? 

I want my daughter to be both adventurous and healthy in her eating habits, which is why I want to involve her in cooking at an early age. I believe that allowing her to be involved in the preparation of meals will encourage her to try new things and appreciate the work that goes into putting her meals on the table.

One of the last things I want her to be is a picky eater like her dad used to be. I have known so many picky eaters and I just can't imagine what a nightmare they must be to live with.

Ideally, I'd love to avoid the stereotypical kid food: pasta with butter, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, PB&J, hot dogs, etc. Most of it is just gross (seriously, cheese should not come in powder form OR be neon orange. And what, exactly, goes into hot dogs?). And, as I said in an earlier post, I'd rather her eat home cooked meals and snacks as opposed to store bought which are LOADED with artificial ingredients. So we're starting early.

Even at 6 months, she was really into baking these cookies!

Baby J with some of her baking essentials

Chef J mixing her cookie dough

Here is the recipe:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup room temperature butter
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I upped this to a full teaspoon just because I love the extra flavor)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate as opposed to semi-sweet)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 (I'm already pretending that I have my BlueStar Jewel Tone Stove)
2. Blend butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until creamy (this is why the butter must be at room temperature).
3. Add baking soda, salt, and flour, and blend (I add the flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time and blend after each addition. I prefer to mix by hand so adding a little at a time makes it much easier to blend).
4. Add chocolate chips and blend by hand.
5. Scoop cookie dough onto baking sheet (I always bake on stoneware since it cooks so evenly).
6. Bake for 15 minutes and cool completely on a cooling rack.

And there you have it. An amazing batch of cookies from Ryan Scott; an All Star Chef with BlueStar. As J gets older, of course I'll have her do some more of the hands on work.

But for now, she was great company, helped mash some dough and nommed on the finished product. 

Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels

A few years back, Kate Moss took some heat for claiming to live by the motto "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".  I really do love certain foods - especially dessert and wine - too much to forgo them so on some level I have to disagree with her. However, I do know that I have never felt as good as I did when I was thin. I was happy and I was confident. 

In college, I was 5'7 and 130 pounds. I remember thinking how fat I had gotten when I went to the doctor and weighed in at 135. I started running and was back to being my happy, skinny self. 

After I got married, I guess I became too comfortable and I packed on the pounds - a whopping 35 of them. I wasn't running because I no longer lived in a runner friendly neighborhood, and although I joined a gym, I'm just not a gym person. Stepping on a treadmill or an elliptical machine makes me feel like a hamster on a wheel. I started cycling which gave me killer legs but did absolutely nothing for my gut or my butt. Then I got really into yoga and was starting to get back to a happy place in terms of my weight. This stopped when all but one of my favorite yoga teachers left the studio. The owner started emphasizing teacher training and the whole dynamic of the place changed. I tried finding another studio but couldn't find one that I liked enough to join. 

I was still overweight when I got pregnant. Great. I was going to be the S.S. (insert last name here). 

Thankfully, I didn't get the insatiable appetite that accompanied my friends' pregnancies. My cravings were cereal with milk, cream of wheat, fruit (OMG did I LOVE fruit!), and red meat. Occasionally I wanted a little chocolate, but it wasn't the norm. Actually, anything too sweet made me a little queasy for the first trimester. I knew I was eating healthily, but I still didn't want to see the numbers on the scale. 

At each doctor's appointment, I made it a point to tell the nurses NOT to say my weight out loud - that I had no interest in knowing it. I told the doctor to just tell me if I wasn't gaining enough or if I was gaining too much. My weight gain was always "perfect" according to the doctor. So to this day, I have no idea how much I actually gained with my pregnancy. What I do know, however, is that I was sick of yoga pants being my only option. 

Moving could not have come at a better time. We now live in a super suburban neighborhood complete with sidewalks and a neighborhood watch. I have been able to start running again. My current route is about two miles. I haven't yet built up the endurance to run the whole time, so I walk a block, run a block. I try to get out every other morning around 7am before my husband goes off to work. Sometimes it's hard if Baby J is up multiple times during the night, and impossible if my husband is away on a business trip (which was the case all of last week and half of the week before that). I got back out yesterday. It's funny that I loathe the gym and love running. I think because the gym is stagnant. You get on the same machine and stare at the same wall or tv. But when I run, I can change my route, see different things, pass different people, and I don't feel like people are watching and judging me. Seriously, I sound like a herd of elephants on the treadmill and I feel like everyone can hear that I am running on it. Not so on pavement.

Despite having to get out so early, I actually love my morning run. It's the one time during the day where I get to be completely alone and just worry about me. I'm alone with my thoughts and my music, and it is just glorious. If I'm out extra early I'll even take a different route to tack on some time. When I get home I'm a sweaty mess and have to make a mad dash to shower and get dressed before Baby J gets too cranky, but after that I feel amazing. It also makes me chug a ton of water which is super important and brings me to my next point. 

I know that working out is important, but diet is even more so. The problem with dieting is that I lack discipline. I just won't weigh or measure food. I joined weight watchers once upon a time, but figuring and counting points was too much of a PIA. I believe that cutting out carbs is a quick fix, but not a permanent, long term solution. Also, I like carbs. And I simply don't buy into the gimmicky fad programs or diets (although, if I were one of the cool kids, I'd develop a "gluten allergy"). Before my wedding I survived on Campbell's chicken noodle soup and oatmeal. I lost a ton of weight really fast, but again, it was just a short term, emergency solution. I need something easy and idiot proof when it comes to dieting. 

One of my oldest and closest friends became a Beachbody coach a couple of years ago. For years, she has been trying to talk me into doing one of her programs. I always said no because a lot of it seemed to center around the Shakeology meal replacement, and I just won't do shakes. P90X is also in there, but my husband had done that program and all of the intense up and down made me nauseous. I have to give her credit for being persistent, because last month she pitched another program to me - the 21 day challenge. This one can be done with OR without Shakeology and is perfect for someone like me who refuses to measure, weigh or replace food. For $60, I would get a book, food containers and some workout DVDs (I could either choose to do their workout program or continue running on my own). This program seemed perfect for me - the lazy woman's route to a beach body. She had me. I ordered.

At first, I was mildly disappointed that this is what $60 bought me

I knew that I wouldn't use their workout program because I'm not good at doing workouts on my own (other than running or cycling). So when I saw this book and these plastic containers, my first thought was "what a waste of money". But, since I had spent $60 on it, I figured I might as well give it a shot. Here's how it works:

The book tells you how to calculate what your daily caloric intake should be. Instead of a solid number, it gives you a range. Then it tells you what type of food goes in each container (pages of examples and recipes) and how many of that color you should be eating every day.

 

Purple = Fruit

Green = Veggies

Red = Protein

Yellow = Carbs

Blue = Cheeses and some other things

Orange = Things like salad dressing

Teaspoon (doesn't come with the kit) = Nut butters, seed oils

So every day I should have 4 green, 3 purple, 4 red, 3 yellow, 1 blue, 1 orange, and 4 teaspoons. And you can really pack out the containers. When I started to measure it out, I realized that it's a lot of food. 

My husband was hesitant about it at first. According to him, you shouldn't have to restrict your vegetable intake. However, I think the key thing to this program is learning portion control and how to make healthy choices. 

I have to admit that I'm not strict about following it. A friend of mine came to visit and healthy eating was out the window. My husband was away on a business trip and I had pizza for dinner and the leftovers for lunch. Twice. But this program makes it easy to get back on track - especially because my coach is amazing. She is SO enthusiastic about the Beachbody program and aiming to do it full-time starting in January. Despite being thousands of miles apart, she set up a private Facebook group where she posts inspirational and motivational quotes and pictures, recipes, and checks in daily. As it turns out, this is the easiest "diet" program EVER because:

1. There is no weighing or measuring (I don't consider shoving food in containers to be measuring)

2. No point system

3. I can eat all of the foods I enjoy - even desserts!

4. I have someone pushing/coaching me through it

5. I have a Facebook support system specifically for this

6. I've already lost 7 pounds despite the fact that I haven't been 100% consistent with eating or running

7. I am finally able to wear my pre-pregnancy pants! No more yoga pants unless I want to wear them.

I am definitely going to keep up with this. When the third week is over (after this week) I'm just going to start it up again. 

I suck at taking pictures of food, but just to give an idea of what/how much I can eat on this plan, here is a breakfast and a lunch (Lunch is the hardest meal for me unless I'm eating out. I literally just throw together whatever I have in my fridge!).

Eggs with cheddar cheese and topped with some salsa and one pear

One veggie burger, refried beans, some cucumber, and celery topped with almond butter

Overall, I really recommend this program. It's the EASIEST thing I've ever done and I've already seen results. 

You can sign up for it here, and be sure to take before and after pictures. You will be amazed at the results!

www.teambeachbody.com/coachnikkizee

Green Beans

Homemade Green Beans

Ingredients: 

Green Beans

Water

*I don't really measure things out. I just dumped in some beans and used about 3/4 cup of water. I probably could have used a bit less, but they still came out great!

**If you're not using fresh fruits or veggies, it is better to use frozen than canned. Frozen fruits and veggies hold more of their nutrients than their canned counterparts. 

To make: 

1. Steam the green beans until they are no longer crunchy.

2. For green beans I use my amazing Vitamix. Pour water into the Vitamix and then add beans. Turn on (variable setting) and quickly work up to 10 (the highest setting). Just let it blend for a few minutes and voila! Green beans for dinner!