Update on my progress

I am very happy to report that since I started this blog, I have had zero sugar binges.  I still have dessert on occasion, but I only eat a small amount, such as one cookie or one brownie with a little ice cream.  I even did the best I have ever done on a Halloween and consumed under 500 calories in sweets.  It has been wonderful to not be plagued by the daily addictive feeling I had before to always be seeking out what my next dessert would be.  Change IS possible and achievable!

Rotisserie chicken, quinoa and veggies

I know I've made this before and posted about it.  But, the purpose of this blog is not to be showing new ideas but rather to show that I am sticking with my goal of eating and cooking healthy food.  So, for three nights in a row we had chicken and quinoa, and each night we had a different vegetable alongside.  The first night we had salad, the second, broccoli, and the third, light green squash from the farmer's market.

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Chipotle and Fire-Roasted Tomato

This has been a favorite of ours for quite a while.  Be careful with the chipotle chiles in adobo sauce - they have a lot of heat.  Don't do as I did the first time I ever used them - read the recipe wrong and dumped the entire can of chiles whole into the soup.  After eating one chile whole, I am pretty sure I was hallucinating or feeling as in a drunken stupor.

I doubled the recipe, and it made 10 large servings, which fed us for dinner and lunch for a good number of days.  However, I can't believe that with all the times we ate this soup, I could never remember to take a picture of it.  But, I promise we made it!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-tortilla-soup-with-chipotle-and-fire-roasted-tomato-recipe/index.html

Whole-Wheat Carrot Applesauce Muffins

Nico has been gobbling these down for breakfast for the past few days.  They are quite yummy and filling.  I bought whole-wheat flour at Trader Joe's.

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/10/25/recipe-whole-wheat-carrot-applesauce-muffins/#more-11973

Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats

My mother-in-law gave us the suggestion to give Nico oatmeal, so I went to Trader Joe's and found this container of steel cut oats.  I cooked them according to the directions on the container and then added a little bit of milk and honey to them.  Nico enjoyed them and ate a fair amount!  I liked them, too.

Interesting tidbit:

Scroll down to the part about oats.

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/07/29/understanding-grains-corn-wheat-multi-grain-etc/

Eggplant salad with Israeli couscous and basil

I didn't care for this recipe and have found that after two experiences of using Israeli couscous, I don't care for it.  I am not a fan of its texture, and since it is not a whole grain, it doesn't fill me up quickly, which makes me eat a lot more of it than I should equating to too many calories.

http://www.marthastewart.com/330142/eggplant-salad-with-israeli-couscous-and

Light green squash

I had never heard of this type of squash until I saw it at the farmer's market this past week.  I tossed it with olive oil and some Penzey's Forward seasoning and roasted it at 400 degrees.  A great addition to my lunches.

Indian Summer Turkey Chili

This is our favorite chili recipe.  It comes from one of the Rachael Ray cookbooks that we own.  I looked for the recipe on foodnetwork.com, and interestingly the recipe listed on the website for this chili is actually a bit different than the one in her book.  If I get the time, I'll add how the recipe we used differs.  The recipe in the book called for 99% lean turkey, which is what we've always used in the past making this, but this time we decided that that's just not enough fat for our taste buds, so we used 93% lean turkey, and that made the chili even better than it's ever tasted.  Oh, and it lasted 3 days, which saved us more time in the week!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/indian-summer-turkey-chili-recipe/index.html

California Fish Tacos

We make this recipe often!  We actually ate it for four different nights in one week, because it's easy and tasty.  It's not completely homemade, but it is still healthy, and when you have a super busy or stressful week, this recipe is a lifesaver.  The recipe comes from the book called Cooking with all Things Trader Joe's.

Recipe:

Ingredients (all ingredients come from Trader Joe's):

Dark blue box of frozen fish nuggets

Package of corn and wheat tortillas

Jar of Cilantro lime dressing (in the refrigerated section by the fruits and veggies)

1 bag of shredded green cabbage

Fresh cilantro

2 fresh limes

(Serves 2)

Directions:

1.  Bake 8 fish nuggets

2.  In a medium bowl, mix together 1/3 jar of cilantro lime dressing and 1/2 a bag of green cabbage

3.  Toast 4 tortillas on a pancake griddle (no oil necessary)

4.  Prepare cilantro and slice limes

5.  Lay tortillas on plates, top each tortilla with 2 fish nuggets, half of the dressing and cabbage mixture, and top with fresh cilantro and lime juice