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Thursday, April 28, 2011

SuzyQ Quinoa or End-of-month Quinoa... both veggie and meaty recipe.

Its the end of the month. Looks in fridge. Hmmm... what do we have to work with. My friend Lorna will be thrilled, NO mushrooms (sobs madly). Ah well... This recipe is interchangeable in its veggies. Use what you have, just try and make it fairly even amounts of each. I used literally what I had left. And this is what happened :)

Also, this can be a vegetarian dish, or, a with meat dish. I kept the meat separate, so that if I want some of this yummy stuff for breakfast tomorrow, I won't overdose on protein. The name? For some reason, my friend Suzy (who is Vegan) kept coming to mind, Ashley too... :) Q is for Quinoa... So, its a friendly dish, all around. A lot of steps I know, BUT, its one of those COEMT! :) Makes a HUGE batch. YUM!

A note about the Kabuto or whatever they are called tomatoes. These are weird in color, brownish/red. Weird ugly, but oh SOOOOOO tasty! They are I think kind of like heirloom tomatoes, sure taste like them! If you can't get these, (they can be pricey, these were 50% off :) get regular tomatoes, preferably fresh off the vine (hard in winter, I know :|)

Oh, and if you value your sanity, do NOT eat Quinoa with chopsticks. Seriously!


Ingredients:




1 large head of broccoli (about 1.5 lbs), chopped small, and evenly.

1 cup of baby carrots, sliced lenghtwise

1 med onion, sliced

2 cups of sliced almonds

garlic puree, divided

Kabuto Tomatoes (or any heirloom tomatoes) 3 sm-med, sliced in thin quarters.



Mirrin sauce (about 2 tsp)

salt and pepper

soy sauce

olive oil

butter (or olive oil if you prefer)

Cooked plain Quinoa (about 4 cups cooked)



If adding meat, prep the following

1 lb steak

1 lb shrimp, raw and shelled.



Steak Marinade:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp sodium reduced soy sauce

salt and pepper (about 1/8 tsp)

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp fine sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp cold water

1 tbsp garlic



mix well.



Cut steak in small bitesize pieces, try to cut evenly.

Add marinade, and mix well. Put aside. (while you are cooking, you will mix it every once in a while).



Shimp Prep:



I used raw, shelled shrimp.

In bowl, add shrimp, 1-2 tbsp garlic, to taste, salt and pepper (about 1/8 tsp), 1 tbsp olive oil

mix well. set aside. you'll stir every once in a while, just like the beef.



~~~~ COOKING ~~~~ I cooked everything on high



In large teflon pan, put 2 tbsp butter OR olive oil, 1/8 tsp of salt and pepper each.

Add 1/2 sliced onion, brown well.

Add quinoa, break up any lumps, and stir-fry for about 8 minutes or so, until heated through, and you see some of the quinoa get toasty.

Put aside in large bowl.



Add 2 tbsp olive oil, heat.

add 1/4 sliced onion, and brown well.

add both broccoli and carrots, and stir fry for about 7 minutes, veggies will become bright green and orange. Salt, garlic (1 tbsp or to taste) and pepper to taste.

Add almonds, mix well, stir fry, stiring constantly, for another 3 minutes or so.

add 2 tbsp soy sauce, and mix well. (the soy sauce adds flavor, and being liquid, will help "steam" the veggies.



At this point, if you are doing the veggie Quinoa, skip the steps below, and go to Final step.



Remove veggies in a separate bowl.



Add steak in hot pan (do not drain), stir fry until evenly brown. The cornstarch makes a kind of pasty coating, this is normal, just tap your spatula on the side, and mix it back in. When the meat is dry, and there is no more "pastiness", its ready. Remove.

is ready :)

Add 1 tsp olive oil, heat. Add last 1/4 sliced onion, brown well.

Add shrimp (and all bowl content), stir fry for abour 2-3 minutes on each side (depending on size of shrimp. do NOT overcook!)
do NOT overcook shrimp! these are just about done, as we'll be frying them a bit more in a minute!

Add beef, ad stir-fry vigorously for another 3 minutes max!

Remove from heat in a bowl.



FINAL STEP:



Add Quinoa back into pan, and add veggies. Stir-fry until fully warmed through, then add tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Stir fry very briefly, to not overcook tomatoes. Serve immediately, with sesame seeds sprinkled on top if desired.



IF using the meat recipe, serve Quinoa mix in bowl, and add 4-6 tbsp of the meat mixture on top, sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!


With meat

Without meat

I hope you've enjoyed this recipe, I'd love to hear your comments... You can email me at ladybug(@)mail2freedom.com (remove the brackets () to send) :)

Cyncerly, Cyn

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Calling all Amazon Shoppers!

AMAZON shoppers, I've a favor to ask (please repost). If you shop on Amazon, please do so through CampCocker's link (www.campcocker.com) it will help raise funds for this cocker spaniel rescue! Here's the amazon link that I got off the site (see comment under). PLEASE, shop through here, or better yet, donate! :)


http://www.amazon.com/b?node=13849051&tag=katdogres-20&camp=211269&creative=376489&linkCode=ur1&adid=0RQ6Y8SW5Q8169GZ5XY3&
 
 
please and Thank you! :)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

One box goes a loooong way :)

used up the rest of the box and ended up with at least 5 meals. see the dessert photo. yum. simple, healthy satisfying :)

added in stir fry: shrooms, snow peas, baby carrots, steak, tonato (cored) and 1/2 avocado :) salt, garlic and pepper

results:

add these at very end!


mmmmm.... needs salt tho.(the dinner lol) dessert is lo-fat vanilla yogurt and an orange to dip in!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Quinoa? a new discovery

I had a box of Quinoa sitting on my counter for a looong time. Everytime I felt the "guts" to get it over with, I'd chicken out. Takes too long, its weird, its too different, its "healthy super nut food". ok. (lol) So today, the Lord gave me the guts, the time, and the willpower to cook and try it.
this is today, from my kitchen window, these birdies were NOT getting THIS bird food!

First thing I thought was, this looks like the bird seed I put out, if I don't like it, I know where its going! (rofl!) But it won't be going nowhere but in my stomach, and a small container of it to a bed-ridden friend who also has been putting off trying it ^_^ (I don't have a picture of bird seed, but you know... budgie food - see above)


I used to think that I didn't care to try new stuff. Looking back on all the weird and new and different foods I've tried in the past 5 years or so, I'm starting to rethink my self-observation! From Sushi (including the raw fish, and the veggie one), to brown rice, to tillapia (which I oh YUCK! red lobster, gotta get fresh fish guys really!) and on to Quinoa. Cooking with my wok has opened so many doors, and now that I have to eat healthier and in smaller but more frequent portions, this is leading to a new road to discovery! I want seconds, but sadly, I'm FULL! (giggle). I'm definitely going to keep experimenting with this. If you want to try out the recipe, check it out here.

Rice cooker baby! :) All I did was follow the instructions on the box. PERFECTION!


I dunno... this looks... obscene for some reason. This way (plain) its very bland.


Me and my garlic! (and shrooms! :) I stir fried it quickly, and did not overcook it. It was good. YUM! This little amount made for 2 meals!


Steak, shrooms, red onions, quinoa, and carrots. oh, and Garlic! I was STUFFED!

I want to try to do a sort of fruit and nut salad with this stuff. yippeee! (lol!)

So here's what I did. I call this Quinoa on the seat of the pants.

I put a box of quinoa (250g) in my rice cooker bowl, rinsed it (I wasn't sure if I should or not, apparently, if you don't it can be bitter - better safe than sorry). Then I added 2 cups of water, and let the rice cooker work its magic.

The aroma in the house was strange and new, and rather nice. Kinda like a woodsy nutty mushroomy smell. Then again, maybe I'm just loosing it.

While that was cooking, I sauted mushrooms with garlic, salt and pepper in a pan.
When then quinoa was cooked, I laid super thin raw fresh red onion slices on top, put the Rice cooker cover back on, and went back to work.
I pan fried a steak, with butter and garlic, salt and pepper. Put it aside.
While the steak was cooking, I steamed a bag of baby carrots (my motto is, cook once eat many times, so I'm cooking in BATCHES) ^_^

Now, I tried the quinoa at this point and was like, ohmygosh this is ewe! (lol!) Then I tried it again, and was like, oh, ok, it needs seasonings! DUH! of COURSE! plain rice is boring. plain pasta is boring! noooooo problem!

In my steak pan I'd used, I added a 1/4 tsp of butter, browned it, added about 1 tbsp of pureed garlic, lightly browned that, added about 1.5 cups of the sauteed shrooms with onions, and I'd say about 1.5 cups of cooked bland tasteless boring quinoa. Salt, pepper. (I use a salt grinder, cuz its like, you know, more fancy. lol)

I put the heat down to medium, and quickly stir-fried the lot. I wasn't sure how long to cook it, as I'd never done that before, but I stir-fried until some of the quinoa appeared toasted kind-of. Then I put half of that in my plate, along with 1.5 cups of carrots, steak, and another generous round of shrooms (I got a pile of them on special... :) and oh MAN! was it good!

I noticed that the juices of the steak blended with the quinoa, and I'd cut up an avocado (but it wasn't all ripe - yeeeesh!) but the little bits that were, made it taste even better (see the post below of mixing rice with avocado).

If you've not tried this "superfood" try it, its light, different, fluffy, healthy, awesome!

Cyncerely, Cyn

Hmmmm... what to cook, and what to eat!

I've been running around like a chicken without a head, or so it seems. Not feeling much like cooking, and my keyboard is acting up on my laptop. I never realized eating on a regular basis (aka multiple small meals a day) could be such a PAIN! (lol).

So, I went and got meat last week. The roast is going back. :( I cooked the three steaks, nothing fancy, in a pan, and stuck them in a container to slice off as I needed for meals. Then, I ran out. Oook... Looked in the freezer, and there was frozen cooked ground beef I'd made up last month, and thought, might as well use this up.

I cooked some sticky (sushi) rice (I LOVE my rice cooker). Put some in a bowl, added ground beef on top, nuked it nice and hot, added a couple of dashes of soy sauce, and 1/2 an chunkily sliced avocado. I didn't expect the mix that ensued, nor the most amazing tasting thing either! The creaminess and coolness of the avocado, with the very hot meat and rice, and saltiness of the soy sauce. OH WOW! :)

I salt (very lightly) the avocado before I eat it plain too. It was very good actually, and I was thriled. Easy peasy! Off to cook more rice. I'll try to figure a new recipe to post on here :) I can't wait for summer for FRESH stuff.

As I write this, its blowing snow, there's 2-3 inches of it on the ground. I guess this year, my birthday will NOT be free of snow. Sigh.

Much love and blessings!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Next stop for LADYBUGHUGS!

Next stop for LADYBUGHUGS!
Ladybughugs will be at the Catholic church Spring Tea on May 29th, from noon until 3:30pm. 25% of all net profits will be donated to Camp Cocker (see below). This is in Levack, Ontario, so please come and see us! There is a penny table, and so much more! I will also be displaying and selling my artwork on that day ^_^


Camp Cocker Rescue is an organisation that rescues cockers, and finds good forever homes for them. Bella, a gorgeous puppy, was dropped off at a shelter, with one eye out of its socket. They pulled Bella, and she was quickly operated on, sadly, the eye was lost, but Bella has a 2nd chance at life! They desperately need help to cover not only Bella's vet bills, but also the vet bills of the other cockers that they rescue and "repair" if you will. These are definitely Dog Angels, and I would beg of you to please donate, even ONE dollar! or whatever you can. Bella's picture can be seen, on their website, after surgery. To find out more, click on the link below. For the price of a coffee, you can do a LOT of good! :)

http://campcockerrescue.chipin.com/bella-the-cocker-puppy-with-the-injured-eye

Here's a challenge, for EVERYONE! Chip in ABOVE! :) COME ON folks, we CAN do a LOT of good here! :)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Not your average egg salad!

So with all this "you have to eat" more (Doc's orders) you'd think I was happy go lucky about it right? Not so much, my imagination at times gets stretched, and the brain cells hurt. But sometimes, the memories come back, of weird but tasty dishes I've made in the past. I'd seen in restos around salads which have hot bacon grease poured on them, and I cringed at the thought, but realized, "taste". I was also told to eat more eggs, which sadly, I can only do if they are farm fresh. Thankfully, the Lord provided, and I know a little place where I can get them. All this to say, sometimes, a wedding of flavors, temperatures, and textures can lead to a satisfying crunch that won't leave you empty, but full-yet-not-overly-so. So here's MY take on "Egg Salad". Not sure how well this would spread on bread tho. ^_^

YUM! quick and simple!


Romaine lettuce, 4-5 leaves
10g cheeses mixed (I used very finely shredded mozzarella and baby parmesan)
15g garlic roasted almonds
4 grape/cherry tomatoes, quartered (the colored ones are so tasty)
2 large eggs, pan fried until yolks are barely set, chopped coarsely (if you don't like runny, cook them til the yolks are solid)
2 tsps Renee's Ceasar dressing light.

I was going to add chicken or beef, but it would, in my opinion, have been too much.

Chop Romaine in bite size pieces.
Add tomatoes, almonds, cheese, and dressing.
Mix wel.
Make sure eggs are chopped "apart" (that there's not this little piece that's holding the whole pile together :)
Add to the top of the salad
Decorate with a pinch of almonds and cheese.

The heat of the eggs will melt the cheeses a little, and make the salad that touches the eggs a little bit wilted. But when you get that bite with both hot and cold in it, its oh so good. This made me a little bowl, and I'm full, had my proteins (I'm outta eggs tho.) and I can go back to bed.

Enjoy, Cyncerely :)

Cesear Salad - an old classic, with a different twist.

Yep. Its official, back on the salad kick. So I'll be posting salad recipes (probably - depending on my ability to get my hands on salad lol!) for the next little while!

Here's the deal. I like cheese. I like meat. I like salad. I like almonds. I like croutons, but they are fattening (I said the F-word. omgosh!) I like ceasar dressing, and refuse to compromise on taste/quality (that's where the cals add up!) And I don't eat bacon. So, basically, we'll have salad, with ceasar dressing. I've been told this is very good, and very filling. (that was when I made it with croutons... :) you can use croutons, if you like.

I use Romaine lettuce, and unlike a "real" restaurant who think you have a shovel for a mouth, I cut it in BITE SIZE pieces. Nothing gets my goat (baaaaa!) more than eating salad that is in HUGE chunks. I use Romaine for 2 reasons. Apparently, it has more nutrients than head lettuce, and if you get it fresh (and if its from the garden, when it hasn't bolted yet), then its actually pretty tasty. The other reason is, its the only salad my dad will digest (come to think of it, me too... at times).

So, here we go :) for the main ingredients (aka veggies and cheese does NOT count as a veggie!) just go with the flow, I'm putting the gram measures just cause I was bored and have them. (take a look at this, and tell me you'd not try a little bit of this yummy salad!)



15g sliced almonds (if you have time and wanna get fancy, toast them in a pan with a little garlic juice)
10g finely shredded skim milk mozzarella (I use my newfangle round cheese grater thingy. it rocks - pictures to come!)
5g baby parmesan also finely shredded
about 8 leaves of romaine lettuce (this was about 150g for me), cut in bite size piece. IF you are eating it right away, you CAN use a metal knife, if you are making the salad for later, use a plastic salad knife.
5-6 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
10g of finely sliced red onion, (ok, so 2-3 slices, to taste)
2 tbsp Renee's ceasar salad dressing LIGHT (or your favorite light salad dressing.)
115g blade steak, sliced thin and in bite size pieces.

other add-ins: shrooms (of course), chicken (warmed up oh man! its AWESOME!), croutons (I used the almonds as a healthier replacement), peppers (EWEEE!), anything that's in your fridge that is still edible, olives, pickles... :)

Chop salad, put in bowl.
Add onions, other veggies, mix well.
Add salad dressing, mix well so that all veggies are covered.
Add steak (or meat(s)) on top, mix gently.
Add cheeses and almonds, mix VERY VERY gently. Serve, and devour!

Its fast, simple, and easy. I've made HUGE mega bowls of this stuff this winter, and got crazy with all the stuff I'd put in, and it was SO darn good. The best part is, you can make it once, and eat many times ^_^

I'll have pics up shortly. Enjoy!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Kimchi noodles, anything but the traditional way

Everyone knows Kimchi noodles, the ones that come in a bowl, and make "soup" (the ramen type noodles - Thanks Suzy). There's also the Mr. Noodles, but I find those abhorrent. Looking at the ingredients, and "nutritional value" of the noodles, and this blog, you're probably thinking, she's lost it, for good. But no. As a special treat (which I crave more and more often ;) I buy a couple of bowls of the kimchi noodles, and go to town!

First off, I cook the noodles al-dente, but I discard the seasonings, yep, plain old kimchi noodles. Eventually, I'll find somewhere they sell these in bulk (but then I'll have to provide my own bowl lol)

Actually, I cook the noodles last and drain ALL the water. (senior moment)

Now, what I've taken to doing is, when I make a stir-fry with sauce, I'll cook the stir-fry (or reheat), and cook the noodles, and spoon the goodies directly on the noodles. The sauce mixes and get absorbed by said noodles, and its oh so good!

Another thing I do, is cook steak, and slice it fine (after letting it "rest") and then cook the noodles, and put the sliced steak (along with any juices) right on top. Tonight, I added an egg (as I wanted to finish the dozen), and roughly chopped it up. It was awesome.

Other ways of diversifying this interesting dish, is using broth instead of water (check the sodium and fat content!) or adding plain stir-fried veggies. Dress it up.

This makes for a VERY quick and hot and satisfying meal. Sadly, I only bought 2 kimchi bowls, and they ARE on sale this week. darn it! ^_^

Enjoy! Cyn

Monday, April 4, 2011

Simple veggies stir fry

Today's recipe is quite simple. I'd take a picture, but its in my stomach, and well, I don't think you want to GO there :) I bought a mandoline/julienne slicer (the one by Starfrit). I must say, I'm in love! It turned 15 minutes of prep time in 5 minutes, and it was so easy!

I used the Julienne attachment and sliced 1 zuchinni, about 10 baby carrots (watch the fingers - for the carrots, I used the flat blade part only), 10 mushrooms (mine were starting to wrinkle (and get kinda leathery) but I'm fairly certain if they were super fresh, they'd have gone through no problem. I julienned the stem of one head of broccoli, and sliced the rest of the florets in equal sizes. (I quartered the shrooms too), I grabbed a large handful (ok TWO handfuls) of sliced almonds.

I also had bought a large container of minced garlic. Now, the garlic in here is NOT as fresh or strong as fresh or pureed garlic (this is good to know for next time I need to buy garlic) so I had to use a LOT more than I normally would, however, this is a great recipe if you are fighting a cold (use the fresh stuff, the cold will scram, but be warned, you won't get kissed!) ^_^ This jar of garlic has liquid in it, not sure if its oil or water, but whatever it is, its AWESOME for flavoring!

You'll also need soy sauce (sodium reduced), Mirin rice seasoning, fish sauce, olive oil.

Basically, this recipe uses what you have. No need for special veggies, just go with the flow, and even better, take advantage of that reduced basket at the grocery store.

I also prepped a batch of steak (as I'm supposed to eat more protein, but that's another post for another day) :)

In a non-stick pan (I KNOW I KNOW, no wok? lol!) I heated up 1/2 tsp olive oil (ever notice how fragrant it is?) I added the almonds, and roasted them until golden brown. Mid-way through, I took about 1 tsp of the garlic juice, and sprinkled it on the almonds. mmmmm.... yummy! Put in a small bowl, and set aside.

As with ANY stir fry, you always start with the hardest/thickest veggies. So:

Add 1 tbsp olive oil, let it get fragrant, add broccoli, and 2-3 tbsp of garlic (the minced stuff) and a dash of soy sauce. Stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green (that's how you know its al-dente!) and then about 1 minute longer (I stir-fry on high). Remove from heat, and put in a large bowl.

Add 2 tbsp of olive oil, and fragranize it, then add the carrots and zuchinni. My slicer has a little container underneath, very useful :) Add another 1-2 tbsp of minced garlic, stir fry until carrots start getting soft. (about 5 minutes)

With carrots/zuchinnis still in pan, add a dash of soy sauce, 2 dashes of Mirin, and a dash of fish sauce and give it a whirl!
Remove from heat after about a minute or so, making sure every thing is coated.

Note: Because of the finer cut of the zuchinni, there will be a lot more liquid than the usual stir fry. Do not drain that goodness, dump it all in the broccoli bowl!

Add 1 tbsp fragranized olive oil, 1 tbsp garlic, brown garlic. Add shrooms. I used regular white shrooms, and one small portobello. MMMMM! Stir fry until nice and brown. Dump the shrooms in broccoli bowl.

Give it a spin with a large spoon, coating everything with the juices, and dump BACK into hot pan. Stir-fry, mixing thoroughly for another 3-4 minutes or so. Try a piece of broccoli, when its done to YOUR liking, remove from heat. Plate, and sprinkle plenty of roasted almonds on top.

The garlic is the main flavor giver in this one. I don't add salt, though next time, I will add pepper, and a dash of hot sauce :)

You could easily add celery, peppers, tomatoes (you'd definitely stir-fry those last), even julienned sweet potatoes, cauliflower, its ALL good!

I had 2 large portions, one of which I had for breakfast lol! On the first portion, I added the steak. This would be AWESOME with bbq'd steak. Oh man!

The reason for the lack of my usual sauce is, I wanted something plain today, something... simple. Just veggies and steak. Unfortunately, the steak was so good, I ended up snacking on it. (shakes head). Well, might as well post the recipe below.

I'm leery of posting the recipe as its still in testing mode. (for the steak only).

You know how, when you go to a Chinese restaurant, the meat is always super tender? Well, after doing some online research, I found out the secret ingredients! Cornstarch and sugar.

I tried this without sugar, and either the butcher was a fraud, or the sugar is DEFINITELY needed.  Thankfully, you need very little to make this work.

So, for one 1 lb blade steak (I've only experimented with blade steak so far - I use what is on sale - mind you, I bought steak from one store, and it was pure SHOE SOLE (even after extensive marinating - never again will I buy meat there. I was NOT a happy camper!)

1 lb blade steak
2-3 tbsp cornstarch (the more you use, the thicker the "breading" will be (when its cooked - its kind of a "wet" breading so don't use TOO much, but don't use too little) For this steak, I'd not put less than 2 tbsp. I tried it with 1 tbsp, and nope.
1 tsp of sugar
2.5 tbsp sodium reduced soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin rice seasoning (this stuff helps a great deal I find)
dash of pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp pureed ginger (less or more, that's up to you, and how you can handle it.)

Mix all ingredients except steak in a medium sized bowl.
Cut steak, about 1.5 inches long, and thin (like 1/8") THIS is part of the trick, thin! and make sure you are cutting across the grain. (and that the steak ITSELF is cut that way)
Mix steak into sauce, folding and mixing well until everything is coated. Place a plastic wrap on top of MEAT (not edge of bowl) so that there is no air in between meat and edge of bowl.

Set aside and marinate for about 20 minutes. I always prep my meat before I start the veggies, by the time I'm done, the meat's ready too! :)

In about 3 tbsp olive oil, fragranized, in a non-stick pan (you can get away with using 1.5-2 tbsp) fry meat until browned, and no longer pink, but do NOT overcook. If need be, use a slotted spoon, and remove the meat from heat. Place on veggies (see no noodles this time either, though this stuff would ROCK on noodles) and enjoy!

I'll post updates, as I try difference cuts of meat. this applies also to chicken, and pork (same recipe/principles)

Enjoy!
Cyncerely, Cyn

Friday, April 1, 2011

Health update... and the reason this blog is gonna kick mega-butt!

So Thursday, I went to the doc's (a nutritionist).


I'm borderline diabetic, hypoglycemic, and have a "leaky gut". My marching orders, eat more. (???) what? eat MORE! I need more protein, I need to eat many small meals throughout the day as my metabolism is stuck on pre-slow. The good news is, I'm allowed to eat all the beef I want, all the cheese I want, but no (beloved) ginger ale (or at least, try and cut it out.) The past 25 years of my being sick... apparently, it can all be resolved! I'm taking these horse pills of supplements (and they are floaties - yuck - floaties are the gel capsules that never seem to go down, or that get kinda glued to your throat). no sugar, no pastries (I'll miss the goodies at the chapel LOL!), I've a whole list of what I can and cannot eat.

Sigh. I hate water, rather, the water HERE, found out today Vita Splash was discontinued (cuz I liked it - seriously!) The other water thingies all have aspertame in it (migraine trigger). ARGH! Crystal light costs a fortune. YAY!

Obviously, I won't eat 5 lbs of beef per day, but I HAVE to have proteins and lots of them with ALL my meals. I also have to eat magnesium (almonds yesss!) And, the stir-frys I've been cooking up are PERFECT, I'm also allowed all the noodles I want (I am trying to stick to rice noodles, as they don't upset my stomach).

So, moderation, and small portions, and I HAVE to remember to bring food with me at ALL times. @_@ So, the bottom line is, I have to EAT if I want to lose weight. Interesting. I'm not giving up, in fact, this is like, good news, as maybe if I can tame this monster, I can get BETTER (health wise- my health is ... not good). Just pray my legs/feet don't start killing me again. Feb. 2010, I ripped my achilles heel, and the swelling never went down, and everyonce in a while, it starts throbbing again.

I refuse to give up. THERE IS LIGHT at the end of this tunnel! And I know I walk with Him. :) I know this posts is a gripe/woe me, but its also a hopeful post. I'm just... getting used to this. My fridge was empty before I saw Doc, now its full of good stuff. The only thing I have to cut out, that I LOVE, is the ginger ale. Really. I mean, how's THAT for an answer to prayer? Oh, and I have to eat eggs, LOTS of them. ^_^ Farm Fresh where is thou? hehe!

All that being said, MORE recipes will be added, I will try to be attentive to the calories, even though Doc is not worried about that ("for now") well, I am, might as well start it right, and DO it right, and it will help with the weight loss too. I will be trying to use different ingredients, but we have a TINY grocery store, and well, what's on sale is what will be used. But, I will continue to post, because maybe someone out there can make use of these recipes, or even adapt them to what THEY like.


God Bless!