Cool lunch

Alright I was in need of additional things to eat for lunch yesterday and today as I was running woefully low on lettuce.  On scouring the fridge I eyed some asparagus and in the cupboard a can of artichoke hearts, so I opted for a little of the romaine lettuce that I had left topped with lightly fried asparagus (used the good old olive oil spray oil), it the hearts and finished it with a mustard, lemon, balsamic vinegar dressing, as I still had some tortilla strips I had made the other week I added some of those with a few of the cheese crumbles, some olives and voila!  A tasty delicious fairly healthy salad.

Last night's dinner was a left over but tonight I'm doing a Spanish, garlic-lemon chicken dish.  My weight loss right now isn't so dramatic and after a wine tasting evening last night I know this week I've fallen a little off the wagon.  However that was my one night out in a long time and I did enjoy myself.  I was reminded of why I love to live in Livermore, and I'm looking forward to the wine festival this weekend, although I think I'll be good and let my husband do the drinking and I do the driving unless we decide to walk it.  Ah good times good times.

Yummy soup

Back on track again today and cooked tonight's meal chicken stir-fry soup, very tasty and sent down ok with the ladies, husband asked if we can have it again so it wasn't all bad.  Rather than serving the girls the soup before adding the broth I took out their portions and served it over a couple of boiled potatoes.  They don't do so well with leafy greens but they ate a sufficient amount for me to not be too discouraged.  Overall the dish had a very pleasant flavor and I found it very easy to prepare.  You can find in stores small bok choy so if you are cooking for two this may be a good one to try.

Tomorrow night I'm going out!  Been awhile since I've had a night out, it is only 2 hours and I should be done in time to get home and put the girls to bed, so that being said I've raided the freezer and we are going to finish off a portion of the vegetarian chili.  I've some of the boiled potatoes left so I'm going to try to serve that with the chili for the twins and for us use brown rice.  I'm simply just getting tired of the clean up from rice as most of it ends up posted to the side of the high chairs or on the floor.  Trouble is neither of them like potatoes that much but we shall see maybe they may not notice them in with the chili, one can always hope.

The van is now in the shop, we should get that back Friday or Saturday, so for the time being I'm carless.  I did remember to take the stroller out of the van so if we need to go out it's not impossible.  I've also taken the car seats out just in case.

I'm also praying for a better night than the one we had last night although given the weather and lack of activity of my two horrors I suspect it's going to be another rough one.  Ah well can't always have it easy I guess.

I've got some ideas for next week...I am thinking along the lines of vegie or chicken kebabs (not had those in awhile) and I'm going to raid a new cook book I was given by James's grandmother.  Then there is the RR burger from last week, so new ideas coming along and lunch well that's just going to be salad variations.  Just as long as I tweek the salads and add something out of the norm and switch it up it doesn't seem to get too boring.

Paying for the cravings...

Last night my husband and I gave into a craving for hot wings...and we seem to both be paying for it today.  Ah well back to the healthy stuff and getting a good clean out in the process.  It appears my Mum lost 12lbs in the last two weeks between our diet and her illness, she is promising herself to continue to eat the way we have been and to continue with things seeing as she has had a jump start.  So far btw the girls seem to have been spared our misery.

Lets see tried the ahi tuna steaks as suggested from Trader Joes, not bad but thinking unless it's done sushi style I think I'm not that huge of a fan of tuna.  I did make a lovely orange and soy (low sodium) dressing to go with it and it was ok, just yeah I think I prefer white fish.

Lets see some of the meals that I've missed blogging about include a sunset orzo with Spanish shrimp, that was fabulous, although a tad spicy not something that the girls liked unfortunately and most of their portions ended up on the floor.  I'm thinking I can do orzo and peas for them and some shrimp (yep they liked the shrimp) and skip a step and serve it that way.  I strongly suspect the culprit for the spice was the sausage so I can easily make something for them using the same ingredients and just switch a step or two out.

Just a quickie...

Will post something a bit more substantial tomorrow but the weight is continuing to drop off magically.  I'm now down about 20lbs and all from making some very simple changes to my diet.  Of course one of the biggest changes is not snacking as much between meals.  Don't get me wrong I snack but not like I was, I try to eat fruit when I have the cravings and I also go for the whole wheat low sugar cheerio type cereals for a quick fix.  So far with the reduction in alcohol and the virtual elimination of sodas and some diet switches things seem to be working well.  The truth will really be told tho when I get around to the blood work again in a couple of months.  Still with my pants having a real problem staying on my hips and with results also being shown with my Mum's figure I am a happy bunny.

I haven't been starving her honest!  But choosing recipes that don't use butter, use more whole grains has really helped.  Don't get me wrong I was already cooking with a lot of fresh ingredients so that wasn't the problem.  It was the butter, alcohol and soda and the cookies that have been a major part of my undoing.  Fresh fruit and veggies are now more of a staple and I'm trying hard to stick with it.  I simply just don't buy the things that are bad.  I limit myself to the bad stuff when I eat out, and as we eat out so rarely it really hasn't been a major issue.  By allowing myself treats and to eat out I am not depriving myself and crave it less.  Just as long as I don't do it every day it's working so far.  I really however must not slide back into bad habits and I constantly have to remind myself to be good.  Today's challenge was going to the store and picking up some spread for the girl's morning toast and not walk out with items I didn't need and would eat instead.  I was tempted by the salad dressings and by the cakes but I managed to restrain myself.  I would have almost killed for a cookie or a scone with my morning cup of tea, and instead of going to a cafe returned home to the backgarden to the tea without the extra calories.  It would be easy to to just say oh one won't hurt, but as I often cannot just stop at one removing myself from the temptation is far easier.

Taking a little break with the blog..

Just for a couple of weeks until Mum and Maureen are done with their visits, hard to blog, or even look at my PC right now.  Girls need lots of attention as they are both sick and I'm just running around doing errands and chores that I can't normally do.  Anyways be back in a week or so now.

Follow up after Monday night's feast

Tonight was a repeat of last weeks sesame chicken salad, a wise choice given that my Mum visiting from England has a poor appetite right now.  Anyways I did my random country generation and next month we are going to visit Tunisia.  That's going to be easier to find dishes to suit everyone, just a shame that not everyone likes lamb or I would have a field day.  However, they do use chicken and beef and their cuisine is very heavily influenced by the Mediterranean and by that from North Africa, all in all just doing a quick search I was excited.  By just using a random country generator and making sure I don't cheat we should get some interesting places to try.  It's kind of exciting in many ways as we get to travel around the globe without ever leaving home.  And you would be surprised at what you can make just by using the ingredients found in your local supermarket.  I have yet to travel to a specialty store to find an ingredient I needed, I just look and search for doable recipes.  I also get to use ingredients from the store that I would perhaps never have used, it's fun.

Where to begin so much food!

Alright, so lets see the last meal I blogged about was the fish supper, then I spent most of Sunday afternoon preping food and cooking that evenings dinner.  I will first say Rachael Ray you make it seem so simple and easy on your show!  Sunday we had a date night meal, starting off with shrimp crostini then following that up with panko-parmesan breaded chicken with a cherry tomato sauce, and a side of peppers and sausage pasta.  I think I used every utensil in the draw and almost every pot.  The meal was fantastic although the clean up ... James's comment was where do we begin?!

I also baked a bermuda bacardi cake and cooked up the meat and yucca (cassava or manioc).  For those that have never dealt with yucca, it's a root vegetable used commonly in African and South American cooking, it also contains traces of cyanide...lets just say I was a little wary of trying this but hey lets not shy away from new ingredients right.  So I boiled and drained the yucca on Sunday for Monday's dinner.  Oh did I mention we went to Bermuda tonight?

Tonight's menu included bermuda cassava pie with bermuda spinach salad, a drink of rum fizz and followed up with the cake.  A very very very rich meal, not one I will be making again too much work and too bad for you.  But I can say I've done it.  I admit I enjoyed all the menu parts and the salad I will probably make again.  The learning experience was the yucca and I know now that I will cook again with that if it comes up again in some recipe I wouldn't mind trying.

Amazing and simple fish recipe

Last night I sat down and figured out the meals for the next week, and I admit I struggled for the last day.  For those reading this blog you may or may not know I'm trying at least once a week to have fish.  Now this is a challenge as my dearly beloved really doesn't like it and prefers not to eat it, so I'm always on the look out for simple easy recipes which I can easily substitute chicken for fish.  Anyways to cut a long story short tonight's dinner was amazing, macadamia-and-panko crusted halibut with orange butter sauce.  Oh so will be one I do again and again most likely.  I'm lucky our local safeway has a nut counter and I was able to find dry roasted unsalted macadamia nuts very easily (I got to watch the sodium).  Rather than frying the fish and chicken I baked them at 375 f for about 20 to 25 minutes.  Served up with brown rice and roasted asparagus it wasn't too sinful although the sauce well yeah.  I did use the lower sugar tropicana orange juice and didn't use as much butter just a touch.  All in all very very please with that recipe.  Oh and yes the recipe called for cod, which wasn't on sale and didn't look all that appetizing so I opted for a halibut fillet.

Tomorrow night I'm splurging with a date night menu including scampi costini, panko breaded chicken and a side of pepper and sausage pasta.  It's not the most figure friendly but I'm looking forward to treating ourselves with the fruits of my labor.  I'm also going to be starting to prepare for Monday's Bermuda feast, not going to spill the beans until we try things hehe.

Very happy today

I paid a visit to my Dr this afternoon in to get a couple of referrals done so I can make appointments for while my Mum is visiting.  Now I've never been a fan of trips to see the Dr but I have to say I have a wonderful primary care physician and I do like my ob and neurologist and for the first time in years I almost enjoy going.  Anyways today I proved to myself that in a month I've managed to loose 14lbs.  I don't entirely trust my home scales and it's nice to know what the same scales think.  Seeing as this diet doesn't exactly feel like a diet I'm a very happy bunny right now.  I also walked to the office rather than taking the easy way out and driving.  It's not that far and made me feel good not to mention the afternoon was just that nice that walking seemed appropriate.  One of the things I've never regretted is not changing my primary when we moved to Dublin, in fact I'm actually closer to her now than I used to be so it all works well for us.

So onto food, lunch today consisted of a tomato basil salad with a few beans thrown in and dinner tonight was another new one for me...Puerto Rican chicken and potatoes, yet another fantastic winner for taste.  The only change I will make next time is to add I think some zucchini for a side dish.  Tomato sauces and all that are a little challenging for the kids right now and I felt it needed something a little green to go with it.  I can honestly say it's not felt like I'm really on a diet and how easy it's been to loose that weight so far.  My Dr was very happy with me and told me I'm actually inspiring her...now that's something lol not that my Dr looks like she needs to loose weight hehe.

One of the things I do try and do tho is if I need a few extra things during the week and need to run to the store if I can manage it I walk rather than take the car.  It's good exercise gets all of us out and some fresh air and is better for the environment.  All I can say is after the Dr's visit and an hour or more this evening in the garden and given that the girls have been awake since noon today they better sleep well tonight :)

Still the same size as I was post pregnancy!

Alright so that might not seem like a big deal to most of you and to a lot post pregnancy many people are heavier than when before they started.  Not in my case!  I actually lost weight and by the time I left hospital I was actually down almost 20lbs from my starting pregnancy weight.  Now this is a good thing as I have way too many lbs to share.  So today I had to make a trip to costco for some dishwasher detergent as my hubby had failed to let me know when he used the last in the cupboard.  No biggie it gave me and the girls an opportunity to get out of the house.  So anyways, I was browsing around the store as it was virtually empty for a change and they had some women's jeans out...now I hate buying clothes I really do specially because of the extra baggage that I carry, anyways I took a chance and seeing as I can barely fit in to the largest sizes there well anyways.  So I picked up a pair of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and yay they fit!  And they don't fall down without a belt...oh yes folks my other jeans are starting to fall off my butt.  I have a long ways to go but that my jeans are getting a bit looser and I've lost a little weight I can fit back into some clothes and jeans again I was considering retiring.  Just have to keep it up!

Dinner tonight an old favorite ridiculously easy vegetarian chili, not a Rachael Ray recipe but one from her magazine.  Totally yummy and a great go to specially when you are busy as this takes like not time at all to make trust me :)

Ooo delicious salad...

Tonight we had sesame chicken salad...wow what a fantastic recipe.  Perfect meal to end a lovely day in the end one filled with sunshine.  I skimped on a few ingredients not that it really mattered and overall everyone loved it.  Instead of salad I gave the twins rice as it's a bit easier still for them to eat although I did dress the rice with some of the salad dressing.  I also added a little evolution cucumber salad to my plate using a recipe from Jamie Oliver.  Ah delicious even if I say so myself.

Lunch today involved more of the cucumber salad and I added some lettuce and white beans.  I have to confess I'm starting to really loved white beans on salads for lunch.

Snappy dinner...variation on a pot pie

Saturday's dinner is another keeper, curried chicken potpies.  Not too shabby and the twins did us proud too eating a fair portion as well.  The only modification I made was using store bought puff pastry for the tops rather than making my own, I admit I'm just lazy when it comes to making pastry and the frozen sheets work perfectly well.

We spent Easter Sunday at my girlfriend's and thanks to her my twins were able to have an egg hunt, bless you my dear friend bless you.  Otherwise thanks to James's work and overtime we were pretty lazy most of the weekend, not to mention the rain.

No regular Monday this week as we did it yesterday instead.  Have to admit I loved the yam casserole and I so think those were plantains instead of bananas.  Anyways time to research Bermuda cuisine our random country drawing from the last meal abroad.  We are so way due to explore again.  I think I've come up with a game plan for the meal and sorry Debbie but I think for this dinner I might just do it all, including drinks mwhaha!  If I get the time to do it I'm going to do a table setting for the meal just because.  The one thing I will say about Bermuda is it was a bit of a challenge to find meals that didn't include fish, but I have succeeded!  Not to mention it's going to be pretty traditional and yep I get to use an ingredient I've never cooked with before har!

Using new ingredients is certainly fun and challenging.  Which reminds me of another plan I had...John and Sam watch this space.

Watercress - not such a hot idea

Last night's choice came down to yogurt marinated chicken with asparagus and watercress.  In retrospect I could have done without the watercress so could the girls and because I mixed the chicken in with the watercress I was left scrambling to come up with an alternative for them, the chicken was delicious so I think just substitute some brown rice instead and that will be a winner.

Tonight was just heavenly blt bow tie pasta.  Not to say that I had all the ingredients mind you.  I used up all my panko breadcrumbs the other day so I just left them out and instead of arugula I used baby spinach, I just know neither of the twins would enjoy the taste if I had used the exact ingredients.  However my version worked perfectly, it's so nice to work with fresh ingredients as it just brings the dishes to life, I find it hard to eat spag sauce from a jar now without feeling I'm missing out on taste.

I cannot believe it's already Friday tomorrow!  Week after next and my Mum will be here visiting from the UK hard to believe it where has time gone?