Wednesday 02.02.11 Ground Hog Day

How was your Ground Hog Day? I hope yours wasn’t like Bill Murray’s in the movie. My Ground Hog Day was good and fairly low key. I was able to get back into my normal routine for the most part. It was nice to spend the majority of my day at home.

The day started with breakfast and we both had oatmeal today. Dan’s included mixed frozen berries, cinnamon, powdered ginger, freshly ground flaxseeds, a pinch of stevia and chopped walnuts. I wanted to include pictures of his breakfast sometimes so that you can all see the difference. My goal with Dan’s meals is to get more calories into him. I do that by increasing his portion sizes and adding extra high calorie items like nuts and seeds.

Like usual I exercised once Dan has left for work and then had my breakfast. I had a bowl of savory oatmeal with nutritional yeast, cumin, chili powder, fresh spinach, chickpeas (that I pressure cooked previously), salsa, and walnut parmesan.

After breakfast I pressure cooked a pound of red kidney beans. To cook these I added 1 pound of dried red kidney beans (which I rinsed and sorted), 9 cups of filtered water, 2 bay leaves, 6 cloves of peeled and smashed garlic and a healthy pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. I cooked these on high pressure for 32 minutes and then let the pressure release naturally.

Once the beans were cooked and cooled I decided to start writing the long post I put up yesterday. This is a picture I took to send to my husband. Just overlook the lack of makeup please. ;-) Binky the cat really shouldn’t let anyone take his picture until his face is made up. Joking I was talking about myself of course, LOL! When I say I am covered in cats I mean literally covered in cats. The picture above is Binky practically up my nose. A few minutes after I took this he laid his head down and took a nap. *rolls eyes* Who is in charge in this house? Oh yeah, it is the cats. ;-)

I was hesitant to include a picture of myself without makeup but I also realize that this is who I am. Given than I will be 48 in a couple of months I can say that things could be much worse. I guess on some level I think it is important to embrace who we are, wrinkles, grey hair and all.  I am posting this to prove to myself that I hae embraced my age which is really tough for me.  But it looks like I finally got there.  No one is more shocked than I am.  ;-)

Once Binky “let me get up” I made myself some lunch. This time I was in the mood for quinoa with baby spinach, chickpeas, salsa, walnut parmesan and dehydrated leeks which I now make plain.. I was hungry about an hour after I ate this so I had second bowl.

My afternoon snack was my usual navel orange and two Brazil nuts (for the selenium).

By the time dinner came around I had no idea what I wanted to cook. This happens much more often than it should. I ended up making a simple salad for dinner. This one included a mixture of veggies which I marinated in red wine vinegar with some dried Italian seasoning. The marinated veggies included: cucumber, yellow bell pepper, carrot, artichokes, and cherry tomatoes. Just before serving I tossed in baby spinach and fresh parsley that I minced. I topped the salad with the red kidney beans which I pressure cooked earlier in the day, a dollop of salsa and a few raw pumpkin seeds. I realize this doesn’t sound like enough food but it was a huge salad for both of us.

Not one to miss an opportunity for dessert Dan was certain that he hadn’t had enough calories and wanted me to make him a batch of strawberry banana soft serve. I swear he needs a soft serve intervention. LOL

I forgot to post this dinner from earlier in the week. It was completely made in my new little halogen oven. The tofu slices were coated in a mixture of miso, apple cider vinegar, grated garlic, and a pinch of stevia. The potatoes were baked and then tossed in Meyer lemon juice and zest. Then I tossed the lemony potatoes in zatar and sumac. The green beans were coated in a mixture of miso which I thinned with a little fresh apple cider I frozen in ice cube trays to have when it wasn’t in season. I added sliced dried apricots and almonds to the green beans. This was a very simple meal but it came together very quickly since I used the halogen oven. I am enjoying that purchase and find myself using it almost daily now.

Happy Thoughts:

Wednesday was a good day and here is what I am thankful for today:

• I am very proud of myself for owning my age if you know what I mean. It is easy to show yourself dressed and made up but posting a picture after exercising and without makeup was something I thought I would never do. *pats self on back* ;-) I guess I am finally growing up. Nah!

• It was great to have a day at home and I am thankful that I can focus on caring for my family (Dan and the fur babies)

• There was time for me to meditate and I always find that enjoyable. If you haven’t tried it I highly recommend it. I always feel like a weight has been lifted from the shoulders when I am finished.

Signing out:

Time for me to turn in for the evening. My knee is doing great which means I want to hit the gym tomorrow morning. I can honestly say I miss going to the gym at 6am. Who said that? LOL

Talk to you all again tomorrow.

Saag Inspired Raw Spinach Sauce topped Zucchini Pasta and Breakfast

Last night for dinner I decided to make something inspired by one of my favorite Indian dishes saag. I do make a cooked version which you will find here. However last night it was warm and sticky so I opted for a raw dish. I used many of the flavors of the cooked dish and made a very quick raw spinach sauce that I used to top zucchini noodles. Instead of cashews I used raw sesame seeds in the sauce to add fat and mouth feel as well as calcium. Here is what I did:

Saag Inspired Raw Spinach Sauce topped Zucchini Pasta
Serves 2

Ingredients:

8 cups zucchini, spiralized (2 medium or 1 huge zucchini)
½ pound raw organic baby spinach
1/3 cup raw sesame seeds (1/2 teaspoon reserved for garnish)
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced
¼ - ½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ - ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
¼ - ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ - ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 splash vinegar (I used about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar)
sea salt to taste
1 tomato, finely diced

Directions:

In your blender combine the spinach, bulk of the sesame seeds (use tahini if you aren’t using a high powered blender), garlic, ginger, and ¼ teaspoon of each of the spices. I would pregrind the seeds if you aren’t using a high powdered blender. Add a splash of vinegar to brighten the flavor. Process until you have a completely smooth sauce. Taste the sauce for flavor and add more seasonings to your taste. I used a ½ teaspoon of each spice but I like a lot of flavor you may prefer less. Add salt if you think it needs it.

To serve, toss the zucchini pasta with the sauce so that the “pasta” is thoroughly coated. Add tomato to the top of the dish and sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 277.22
Calories From Fat (44%) - 120.96

Total Fat - 14.47g
Saturated Fat - 2.02g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 147.09mg
Potassium - 2266.28mg
Total Carbohydrates - 31.67g
Fiber - 12.49g
Sugar - 11.16g
Protein - 15.13g

Comments:

This was a good and quick dinner. From start to finish I had to ready in 15 minutes and did not need to turn on the stove. I love meals like this in the summer time.

Each serving of this dish contained approximately 12,200IU of vitamin A, 125mg of vitamin C, 450mg of calcium, 9mg of iron, 3.4mg of vitamin E, 1.6mg of B6, 400mcg of folate, 575mcg of vitamin K, 440mg of phosphorus, and 280mg of magnesium. I also love the potassium, protein and fiber it contains for less than 300 calories. It was a big plate of filling food.

Breakfast this morning:

I get a lot of questions about what we eat of breakfast since I don’t typically post that. Today I thought I would share breakfast since it is one of our usual meals. We started with a veggie and fruit juice right after we got up. Here is what I made:

Fresh veggie and fruit juice
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 head romaine
5 carrots
1 apple
½ lemon
1 inch fresh ginger
3 collard leaves
3 stalks of celery

Directions:

Run everything through the juicer and serve in a cold glass (I store our juice glasses in the freezer so they are always cold) with a few ice cubes.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 205.09
Calories From Fat (8%) - 15.71

Total Fat - 1.93g
Saturated Fat - 0.29g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium  -226.88mg
Potassium - 1799.87mg
Total Carbohydrates 47.58g
Fiber - 0.00g **
Sugar - 22.02g
Protein - 7.56g
** zeroed out manually

Comments:

We have variations of this juice every day. What changes are the greens we use. Sometimes I include baby spinach in place of romaine. Other times I use kale in place of collards. We also include a beet and beet greens when we have them. We also add a wheat grass shot or two when we have those in the freezer. The constants are the carrot, apple, ginger, lemon and celery. We think the taste is good and very fresh. But what we like most is the nutrition it provides. I make fresh juice every morning that we have before breakfast. In the past we had coffee or tea first thing in the morning and now we have fresh juice instead.

Each serving of this juice contains approximately 54,000IU of vitamin A, 120mg of vitamin C, 260mg of calcium, 4mg of iron, 2.7mg of vitamin E, 0.7mg of vitamin B6, 535mg of folate, 505mg of vitamin K, 200mg of phosphorus, and 90mg of magnesium.

Next recipe:

After we have our juice I make us either a smoothie or oatmeal. This morning it is gray and rainy so we had oatmeal. Here is the serving size I made for myself; Dan’s was 50% larger:

Wild Blueberry Oatmeal
Serves 1

Ingredients:

½ cup rolled oats (if you really want to make this more healthy use oat bran instead)
1 cup water
1 sprinkle cinnamon (to help the body process the natural sugar in the berries)
1 sprinkle ginger, powder (because powdered ginger is anti-inflammatory)
1 cup frozen wild blueberries (for their ellagic acid and antioxidants)
1 tablespoon flaxseed ground (for omega 3)
2 tablespoons walnuts, roughly chopped (for omega 3 and crunch)

Directions:

Combine the water, oats, cinnamon, and ginger and cook until done. I use the microwave because it is easier. When the oats have absorbed the water I top them with the frozen blueberries and put the bowl back into the microwave so the berries with thaw but not get hot. I top the blueberries with the ground flax and walnuts. If you have a sweet tooth you may want to add a sprinkle of stevia, we did at the beginning. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 394.73
Calories From Fat (36%) - 143.78

Total Fat - 17.02g
Saturated Fat - 1.81g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 15.39mg
Potassium - 331.02mg
Total Carbohydrates - 54.87g
Fiber - 11.75g
Sugar - 15.25g
Protein - 10.72g

Comments:

After the fresh juice and oatmeal we are satisfied and full for hours. It may be the 18 grams of protein that keeps us satisfied. I find it fascinating that we had no soy, tofu, beans or protein powder and get so much protein for breakfast. It seems to put an end to the “where do you get your protein” question doesn’t it?

This serving of oatmeal contains less nutrition than our dinner or juice but this because it is more grain (oats) and less veggies and fruit. From using the cookbook program to check nutrition for over a year now I can tell you that grains add bulk and calories but not a lot of vitamins and minerals. That is one of the reasons we try to keep our grain consumption (even whole grains) to a dull roar. This breakfast contains approximately 80IU of vitamin A, 14mg of vitamin C, 55mg of calcium, 2.6mg of iron, 1.1mg of vitamin E, 0.2mg of vitamin B6, 36mg of folate, 29mcg of vitamin K, 235mg of phosphorus, 91mg of magnesium and 12.7mcg of selenium. Quite a difference between this and the juice isn’t it? That is actually why we have both.

One thing I hope you noticed is that breakfast is a calorie dense meal at our house. Neither Dan nor I started out as breakfast eaters. However over the last 12 years we have worked to make breakfast part of every morning. At the beginning it was a tough habit to stick with. Now I can’t imagine starting my day without a big filling breakfast.

Unrelated note:

Today is much cooler but also gray and rainy. Since Dan needed to go into the office sometime this weekend he decided to go downtown today. He did spend the morning at home and just left for the office. I decided to forgo my exercising this morning to spend time with Dan before he left. We will see how afternoon exercising goes. I prefer to get exercise out of the way early in the day.

After exercising I am going to spend a little time in the kitchen. I want to see what I can come up with for dinner based on what I have in the refrigerator. This is something I try to do which has become sort of a game for me. What I can make from what I have. It is always a big question mark when I start.

Other than exercising and cooking I may spend time with a book or movie this afternoon. The rain is making me want to stay inside and curl up on the sofa.

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday. Talk to you all later when I come back with dinner.

Tropical Oatmeal

When it is cold outside oatmeal is my go to breakfast. There is something warm and comforting about oatmeal that allows me to face a cold day ready for action. We eat oatmeal a few different ways. Sometimes we top it with walnut butter and banana slices, other times it is frozen berries and almonds, but today it was tropical oatmeal. Beatrice made oatmeal with coconut milk a while back and it sounded so tasty it must have stuck in my head. This morning I decided make my own version of tropical oatmeal. Thanks for the inspiration Beatrice. Here is what I made.

Tropical Oatmeal

Serves 1

Oatmeal Ingredients:

½ cup old fashioned oats, dry
1 cup water
1 pinch salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground

Toppings Ingredients:

1 clementine, sectioned and cut into bite sized pieces
¼ cup fresh pineapple, cut into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon unsweetened, reduced fat coconut flakes (Let’s Do Organic Brand)
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
¼ teaspoon cardamom, ground

Directions:

Combine the oatmeal ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heat until the water is absorbed (2 minutes in my microwave).

Top the oatmeal with the fruit and nuts and serve.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 260.76
Calories From Fat (25%) - 65.1

Total Fat - 18.29g
Saturated Fat - 1.82g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 300.39mg
Potassium - 415.51mg
Total Carbohydrates - 47.21g
Fiber - 8.64g
Sugar - 11.53g
Protein - 7.61g

Comments:

This is something that I made for myself today, not Dan. The reason I didn’t make this for Dan is that he isn’t overly fond of coconut. However if you like coconut and pineapple this is a good oatmeal variation. I used ingredients we had on hand but there are many possible variations. Mango would also be good here as would banana. I think the cardamom is a necessity but you could use nutmeg or vanilla and skip the cardamom if you choose.

This serving of oatmeal contains approximately 55mg of vitamin C, 80mg of calcium, 200mg of folate, 85mg of magnesium, and 18mcg of selenium.

Unrelated note:

Last night was a rough one. I didn’t sleep well due to nightmares. The lack of sleep may have contributed to the headache I woke up with today. This has had an impact on my productivity today. But I am hoping to make some progress on “project purge” this afternoon. Fingers crossed.

At least the sun is shiny and we may reach the low 50’s on Sunday. Nice weather is definitely something to look forward to. It will be nice to have a weekend with cloudy skies and snow for a change. I am trying to think of something fun that will involve getting outside in the nice weather. Bike riding is a possibility but it may still be a little cold for that.

Enough stalling, it is time for me to get back to my project. I hope to get our dinner posted tonight before I turn in. Italian food is on my mind today which may mean it will turn up on dinner table tonight.