Turkey Tacos

These are wonderful and are my second favorite taco recipe, after California Fish Tacos (see earlier blog post).

We used ground turkey that I believe was 93% lean and used Penzey’s Original Taco Seasoning as the taco flavoring.  Penzey’s Original Taco Seasoning is the best taco seasoning mix I have tried.  My sister-in-law and mother-in-law recommended it to me.  It is also unprocessed, using just a blend of seasonings that are commonly found in a home spice cabinet, and it is gluten-free.  We then topped the tacos with onions and red and yellow bell peppers that I sliced and sautéed in canola oil, and we put all the ingredients in a 100% whole wheat tortilla.  Yum!

 

Baked salmon with brown rice and kale salad

To prepare the salmon, I took a filet of salmon with the skin on, placed it in a Pyrex dish, made some slices across the salmon to allow the seasonings to soak into the salmon better, and coated it with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and minced garlic.  Then, I baked it in the oven at 400 degrees.  I don’t bake it for an exact time but just check it periodically to see if it is done.  I ate it with a side of brown rice and some kale salad that my husband had made.

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/