Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Recipe Test: Tomato Basil Salad with White Beans

Credit: www.sweetsugarbean.com

Click here for full recipe

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.





Saturday, June 8, 2013

Recipe Test: Carrot Cake Smoothie

Credit: ohsheglows.com

Click here for full recipe

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

Click here for full recipe

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

Click here for full recipe

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

Click here for full recipe

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!