Yard Almost Done & Domestic Diva Denied

Interesting change of events.  Hubby has declared he is no longer interested in having me cook for him.  He's back to fending for himself.  Odd ... since he whined so much about the week I left him be on his own.  I didn't quite believe him at first but this past week he stuck to it.  He grazed a bit on some of what I'd bought at the grocery but didn't even touch the dinners I made or the leftovers.

Now I'm in kind of a pickle ... I've learned cooking for one is TOUGH!  I'd get bored at the same leftovers all week.  We don't have a lot of freezer space to kind of single portion things out and save for later.  I'm lousy at cutting down recipes and getting them right - every time I try it seems to screw it up.  Plus now he's back to trying to get me to go out to dinner a lot and that I know is trouble.  I've been slipping back into bad habits already I don't need to add restaurants to the mix ... and alcohol?  The second I go there I give into a burger and fries FAST!  Not the way to go!  This past week was rough ... bad week at work plus dealing with wound up dogs because their backyard is full of contractors add pms and I was primed and ready for a slippery slope to bad habits.  In fact one night I literally dreamed of nothing but drinking soda.  The entire dream was me sneaking soda, going great lengths to get it & drinking A LOT of it ... like an alcoholic only soda!  Diet, regular ... you name it!  I woke up like 'What the F?!'   This lady was grumpy, growly ... full on pissy!  And pissy tends to =

Photo Credit: www.redorbit.com

Actually I probably shouldn't refer to it in the past tense.  The good Hubby has also decided that he hates most of what is being done in the back yard.  It's the old "I want nothing to do with it - the planning, the back & forth with the contractors ... it's all yours!" ... gave me the budget and that was that.  But now that it's almost done Oy do his opinions come out!   "What are they doing here ... are they going to make this wider?" ... "The raised bed block is awful!  I'm going to have to paint it and it is coming out of your budget" ...

I get a little well ...

Photo credit: simpsons.wikia.com 

Now don't get me wrong ... I'd never advise a woman to marry a man with no opinions.   Marrying a wuss with no sass to him would never have worked for me - I'd have trampled him over & gotten bored fast.   But there are indeed days that a wussy variety sounds nice.  Kind of like those days when you sit at your desk and think 'I'd rather be a Walmart greeter than this shit!' ... you mean it in the moment but after you've settled down you pretty well know you'd go postal if it was true.  I'll love Hubby again tomorrow no doubt but as of right now after I had a little hissy on his commentary on the backyard I think he might be scared of me.

Photo Credit: www.vixenontheloose.com

He's not wise enough to back off for long though ... he'll start poking at me later to see how much of a rise he can get out of me.  It's like a game to him.  I would definitely recommend to other women to be CAREFUL before you marry the oldest of several siblings ... when his younger brothers & sisters are no longer around to pick on the urge will not go away and he'll turn it on YOU!  (and yep - I'm the youngest so it drives me crazy!)  This is what will be in store for me later tonight ...

Photo Credit: damnthatswhack.tumblr.com 

Recipe Test: Summer Pasta Salad

Credit: thricethespice.blogspot.com

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INGREDIENTS:

• Grape Tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Red Bell Pepper
• Corn
• Green Onions
• Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
• Cilantro
• Parmesan Cheese
• Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Garlic
• Salt & Pepper

Another "summerish salad" for Hubby.   This one I really liked as did he.  The parmesan dressing is what makes it.  Leftovers will be a great quick grab lunch!

Recipe: Pork Carnitas Tacos

Credit: 100 Days of Real Food Blog

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INGREDIENTS:

• Pork Shoulder or Boston Butt Roast
• Oregano
• Pepper
• Salt
• Cumin
• Onion
• Garlic
• Salsa
• Corn Tortillas
• Avocado
• Cilantro

I forgot to take pictures of the actual tacos but above is the leftover pulled pork.  I didn't get the full 2.5 pounds the recipe called for since there were just two of us.  Next time I'll either get more and freeze the leftovers or won't cook as long because it was a little too dry.  Once it was all together in the tortilla it was pretty damn good though.  

Recipe Test: Spring Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Credit: dineanddish.net

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INGREDIENTS:

• Orange Zest
• Orange Juice
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Honey
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Spring Mix Salad Greens
• Jalsberg Cheese (It's a mellow Swiss)
• Bacon or Turkey Bacon
• Walnuts

Hubby requested "lots of salad" this week since it's "summerish" ... that's not even a real word but okay Hubby you got it!  So another salad!  He claims this one is as good as the Farmers Market Salad but I personally disagree.  It's not bad.  The dressing was great.  I think it was the cheese that turned me off.  I'm not a big fan of swiss cheese.  Definitely worth trying if you like it.   Especially the dressing - yummy!

Recipe Test: Tomato Basil Salad with White Beans

Credit: www.sweetsugarbean.com

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INGREDIENTS:

• Tomatoes
• White beans
• Croutons
• Fresh Basil
• Bocconcini Cheese (I used mozzarella)
• Pea Shoots (I used bean sprouts)
• Chives
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Garlic
• Maple Syrup
• Salt & Pepper

I wish that I could have found pea shoots.  I've never had them and would love to try.  I googled what would be a replacement and so used bean sprouts instead ... but I don't think that really worked.  Whole foods surprisingly didn't have any whole wheat croutons so I bought a small whole wheat baguette and cut up and put in the oven until crisp.  

Simple and good.  Worth a try if you like the ingredients. 

Big Mistake!

So my goal for June was to finally start making a conscious effort to lose weight.  To do so I created a 'diet' version of the whole / real foods plan.  So ... I should have realized that like all diets before a self created one would be just as effective.  Not long after I started I noticed that I was craving food items.  French fries. Chocolate.  And strangely, meat!   I literally was dreaming about eating burgers, steaks, sausage ... not exactly a sign of a mind at peace!

I stuck with it thinking willpower would get me through.  After all I did almost six months of Nutrisystem nasty ass food.  Food that NEVER expires?  Yep - now I know better!  Anyway, I caught myself slipping.  Hubby and I went out for dinner and instead of the salad I knew I should get I ordered the burger and fries I'd been dreaming of.  And this time no regrets ... I thought that giving in to my craving would be a good thing as then I'd have gotten it out of my system.  Nope - not even a day later I was right back at dreaming of naughty foods.  We had horrible news last week in that there was a death in our family.  I'd meant to go to the grocery but with everything ended up not going and found myself standing in front of an empty fridge trying to figure out what to eat for dinner.  Jimmy Johns to the rescue.  It was way too easy to slip back into old habits and find excuses.

So lesson learned.  No diet.  I'm back to the basic whole food rules and am meal planning again.  I'm simply going to have to get my ass up and be more active to get the weight off.  The back yard will FINALLY get started this week so soon I'll be able to get out there gardening.  Walking the dogs would be damn good for me and for them too.  I have a gym membership I almost never use.  There's no excuse other than my laziness.

Recipe Test: Carrot Cake Smoothie

Credit: ohsheglows.com

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INGREDIENTS:

• Carrot
• Coconut milk
• Banana
• Chia seeds
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla protein powder

If you like real carrot cake you'll like this.   I'm not really a fan of it but I thought I'd try this out for one of my lunches.  It's not horrible, just not enough veggies and I don't like using protein powder.  The kind I had at hand was a whey protein and the ingredient list was full of things I couldn't pronounce.  Not exactly along the lines of the 'real food rules' I've been on since January.  

Recipe Test: Strawberry Energy Smoothie

Credit: aharmonyhealing.com

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INGREDIENTS:

• Coconut water
• Coconut milk
• Strawberries
• Cucumber
• Spinach
• Chia Seeds
• Sweetener - I used maple syrup

This was one of my lunches this week.  I love how some of these smoothies come out so 'confetti' looking.  This one had pinks, reds and several shades of green to it.  

Quick & easy to grab for lunch!  Kept me full until dinner too!  It does need a little extra sweetener for taste.   Not much though.  The cucumber & coconut makes it pretty refreshing.  

Recipe Test: Portobello Musroom Pizzas

Credit:  www.bodyrock.tv

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INGREDIENTS:

• Tomato
• Portobello Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Lemon
• Leek
• Onion
• Basil
• Parmesan Cheese
• Parsley
• Olive Oil
• Salt

This was a nice quick dinner that ended up pretty good!  I made sure to tell Hubby that it wasn't pizza so he wouldn't accuse me of 'false advertising' again.   

They are little watery.  I wonder if I'd cooked the tomato mix more if I could have gotten more of the liquid out.  But well worth trying!

Recipe Test: Avocado Shiitake Roll

Credit: taste-of-japan.blogspot.com

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INGREDIENTS:

• Shiitake mushrooms
• Avocado
• Sushi Rice - I left this out
• Nori 

 Okay so I didn't really follow the recipe here.   The picture on pinterest just showed avocado, mushroom and nori and I thought it looked like an easy lunch.  It was!   Next time I think I'd add a little bit of brown rice and some soy sauce to make it more like actual sushi but it was a quick and healthy lunch! 

Recipe Test: Kale Avocado Soup

Credit: aharmonyhealing.com

Click here for full recipe


Ingredients:

• Coconut oil
• Onion
• Celery
• Salt
• Garlic
• Kale
• Lemon
• Vegetable broth
• Avocado
• Black pepper

This one is very similar to the Broccoli Soup recipe but with Kale & Avocado.  Chopping the ingredients, then letting the kale get soft by leaving it to simmer a while.  Then blend!

I don't think I'd have gotten this brand of blender if my neighbor hadn't raved about hers.  I'm not one to usually go for infomercial products ... but it is pretty decent.  It's got a huge blade vs just the one at the bottom so it gets the big stuff quickly.  Plus it has a single serving option and two containers so you can literally just blend and go.  Well ... back to the soup.

Very easy to make but I have to admit I didn't like it at all.  Kale is bitter and that bitterness was the main taste of this soup.  Honestly a waste of an avocado in my opinion.   Hubby liked it ... hubby is crazy!