Update on my progress of making a lifestyle change in how I eat

So far, I have been making good progress and have been learning a lot along the way.  I learned that I stay much more full when I eat a balanced diet that includes all the food groups.  Staying full like this keeps me from craving sugary foods on a regular basis.  I have learned that once your body gets accustomed to eating better and snacking on unhealthy things less often, you find that you don't need to eat as much as you did before.  I have done well with keeping unhealthy desserts and other snack foods out of the house.  I also have been able to resist dessert on occasions like when I was tempted to order a frosty at our first trip to the new Wendy's they opened up in our area.  But, I have discovered that my big obstacle is social events.  It's difficult for me to turn down that delicious homemade apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream that our friends brought to Bible Study.  It's difficult to turn down that piece of birthday cake at Nico's friends' first birthday parties.  It's hard to not want to go out to eat or go for dessert when my brother comes for a visit.  These events are all huge blessings in my life, one of my biggest joys, and gifts that I can't express how thankful I am for, but I have to learn how to be smarter food-wise in these situations.  My husband gave the suggestion that I could have a smaller portion of the apple cobbler or the cake, and I realized that just because we go out to eat with friends doesn't mean that I have to eat the most unhealthy thing on the menu or finish all of my meal.  There are healthier choices at many restaurants.  So, that will be my goal in the coming weeks - to be smarter in the social situations.  Thanks for reading this and helping keep me encouraged in my lifestyle change!

Kale Salad

My husband made this, but I had to share it, because it's so healthy and yummy.  It's his own creation.  He's really the ingenious, creative chef of the family.  I just follow recipes with a few tweaks here and there.  I'll have him write out the recipe soon.

Kale and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

5 garlic cloves (minced)

1 Tbsp. dried minced onions (or fresh, diced onions)

1 (15.5-oz) can chickpeas, drained

1 (10-oz) bag of kale

1 cup water
1 tsp smoked salt

1.  Heat large skillet over med heat.

2.  Add olive oil.

3.  Add minced garlic and saute for 1 min, making sure not to let garlic burn

4.  Add chickpeas, kale, and dried minced onion.  Stir ingredients thoroughly to combine.

5.  Add 1 cup water and smoked salt, to taste.  Cover and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, and adding more water as necessary, until kale is softened (roughly 20 mins.)

6.  Serve and enjoy!

Smoked salt is really key in this dish.  You could also buy pre-minced garlic for a quicker prep.

Roasted pork tenderloin and Roasted squash with onions and yogurt

A big thank you to my sweet husband who prepared most of this meal!

Pork tenderloin:

We coated the tenderloin with EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic cloves and then baked it at 400 degrees.  We have to experiment with the cooking time, as we over-cooked it.

Roasted squash with onions and yogurt:

 http://www.marthastewart.com/317089/roasted-squash-with-onions-and-yogurt

Spaghetti squash

Tim found the spaghetti squash at Trader Joe's.  I mostly followed the directions that were listed on the squash - cut in half, remove seeds and inedible stringy parts, but I deviated from them by putting the squash face-down in a little bit of water in a Pyrex dish instead of face-up with no water.  Then, after it bakes, you just take a fork and scrape the squash out, and it naturally comes out in spaghetti strips.  Pretty cool!

The meal I made from this was semi-homemade but still healthy.  I put spaghetti sauce on top of the squash.  Then, I cooked some 100% whole wheat pasta noodles and topped those with sauce, and finally I added Trader Joe's frozen egg plant cutlets that I baked in the oven on a cookie sheet.  And, the most exciting part was that Nico loved the squash!

'Curried Shrimp with Snow Peas' and 'Saffron Rice with Carrot, Raisins and Pine Nuts'

This is an old favorite that we used to make often but have not made in at least the past four years.  My brother came out for a visit, so we thought it a good excuse to make this more elaborate dish.  It is a recipe from the show that used to air on TLC called "Take Home Chef", and it is more time-consuming to prepare, so my husband helped me.

Curried Shrimp with Snow Peas

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/curried-shrimp-snow-peas.htm

We made some modifications to this recipe that are as follows:  

Roma tomatoes instead of plum tomatoes (I couldn't find plum tomatoes)

We left out the coconut milk
We used chicken instead of shrimp
We used sugar snap peas instead of snow peas, although we forgot to add them this time, oops...

Saffron Rice with Carrots, Raisins and Pine Nuts
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/saffron-rice-carrot-raisins-pine-nuts.htm

We used golden raisins, and Trader Joe's sells decently-priced saffron.

Baked sweet potato fries

I seasoned the sweet potatoes with salt, pepper, sweet paprika, garlic powder and olive oil and baked them at 400 degrees.  I'd still like to experiment with the spices a bit more, though, to make the potatoes a little more flavorful.

I had made these before with just salt and pepper for seasonings, but then got the garlic powder and paprika idea from Paula Deen:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-sweet-potato-fries-recipe/index.html

3 Envelope Roast

This is hands-down the best pot roast I have ever eaten.  My husband is not a pot roast fan, nor in general a fan of Midwestern-type meals, so he didn't think he'd like this.  Au contraire, he absolutely loved it, and this is the second time I have made this roast.  One of his very favorite meals, and it's so so easy!  A thank you to my cousin Kookie from whom I got the recipe.

Recipe:

3 Envelope Roast

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 envelope of dry Italian salad dressing mix
• 1 envelope of dry ranch salad dressing mix
• 1 envelope of dry brown gravy mix
• 3 pound beef roast (such as chuck roast)

Become Inspired to Eat Healthy. Watch Now.

Instructions

1. Place the water in a medium bowl. Add all three envelopes of dry salad dressings/gravy to the water. Mix until blended completely.
2. Brown the roast (if desired). Add the roast to your slow cooker. Pour the water/salad dressing mixture over the roast.
3. Place in the slow cooker and cook on high for about 4 hours or on low about 8 hours.

Lentil veggie burgers

So, it may not look the most appetizing, but it sure was tasty and very healthy.  A definite keeper.  My husband suggested that the next time we make these, we fry them in pieces more like falafel and put them in a pita with tahini sauce on top, so look out for a post with that sometime in the next month or two.

Recipe comes from Sunset magazine:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lentil-veggie-burgers-50400000130775/

Roasted chicken with couscous salad

 

Roasted chicken:

I bought chicken thighs, rinsed them, coated them with olive oil and Slap Ya Mama Seasoning (which you can find at Cost Plus World Market), and roasted them in a Pyrex dish at 400 degrees for around 35-40 minutes.

Couscous salad with black beans, mushrooms, and corn:

http://www.marthastewart.com/317484/couscous-salad-with-black-beans-mushroom

This salad was delicious, and I would make it again, although it is a little time-consuming to prepare.  You can find Israeli couscous very inexpensively at Trader Joe's.  I would also add more mushroom than the recipe called for, but I love mushrooms.

Slower cooker flank steak fajitas with Spanish rice

Slow cooker flank steak fajitas:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/12/19/recipe-slow-cooker-flank-steak-fajitas/

My husband and I didn't care for the flavor of these fajitas, so I would not make them again, but they fed us for four days!

Spanish rice:

My mom gave me this recipe, and she has made it for years.  It was excellent, and I used long-grain brown rice instead of white rice

Spanish rice recipe:

You will need:

10” teflon-coated saucepan with lid (glass lid is nice)

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup long-grain rice

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 green bell pepper, chopped, seeds removed

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. Spanish paprika

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 14.5 oz. can 100% Natural Hunt’s Petite Diced Tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. can Swanson’s Chicken Broth (regular, not low-fat, no MSG)  If using brown rice, add more chicken broth, perhaps 1/2 a cup or more extra.)

Directions:

Heat olive oil on medium heat.

Saute rice, onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper in olive oil turning ingredients until rice is golden-brown.

Add seasonings and pour tomatoes and broth over the sauteed ingredients.  Mix everything to blend.

Cover pan and reduce heat to low. 

Remove lid and fold mixture gently a couple of times so the rice is coated well with the seasonings.

Allow about 30 minutes for the rice to cook. 

Enjoy!

French toast

This is a very hearty breakfast for Nico.  I used 100% whole wheat bread.