Tuesday Night Dinner KinderGarten Grad Night

Today was a busy Day off for my son and I.  We had grand plans for laziness which would have included drowning in tea with my favorite people while laughing at our wee children as they covered themselves in grass stains ....that plan was slightly foiled by the need for the just released Lego Harry Potter wii game ...... since someone did graduate from a grueling year of kindergarten  today the prize was was well earned but quickly corrupted by Ferry line ups..... we missed a ferry on each side! Yikes
The quest for electronics took us to Courtenay.  Fun car music, some solid Bodo jokes, and a strawberry Sunshine Booster made the trek more than worth while.
Bodo and I both felt really tired when we finally arrived on our door step.  You would suspect I would pull out something fast and mindless for dinner....and in the past I usually would
BUT....
I am finding that blogging is somehow really comforting ...I guess it gives me a task
(as the overflowing basket of clean unfolded laundry grows to enormous proportions....I think ...if it were food in a basket it would likely have rotted by now)
 ...pictures of pretty food and thinking up something new and interesting inspires me and keeps me from stressing about things I can't control ...which turns out to be what worry is all about.... I think....still working on what the meaning of life is .....I will let you know if I figure it out ...

DINNER tonight was snacky but that isnt really out of the ordinary  for my son and I
He is six
and I eat 6-7 small meals a day.  Eating this way is amazing for fueling yourself.  You never feel over full.  Once you get over the idea of eating till you are stuffed and not eating for hours till your blood sugar is totally tapped it really feels great.
Bodee did have TWO veggies Dogs on brown buns when we first arrived home because he was starved but he then joined me for a snack fest when it hit our little table.
SO tonight I made:

• Carrot & Beet Cakes (grated carrots/Beet/ Egg white formed into patties and cooked in a non stick pan)
• Tatziki Dip (Greek Yogurt, grated cucumber, crushed garlic, & lemon juice)
• Pink Grapefruit, sprouts, avocado, and Mary's Crackers.
• OH and strips of Seaweed ...I was inspired by some of the children in Boden's class that are Japanese.  Their little lunches were packed as rice balls and strips of seaweed .  They would gather the rice balls into the strips making individual bites of yummy food ...we practiced this tonight with some of our own creative idea's

Goon Doo Banana Bread:

I burnt banana bread almost every time UNTIL I discovered this recipe:
Pre Heat Oven to 350
Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Soft Butter
• 1 Cup Mashed Banana
• 1 Cup Milk 
• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Cup Choc Chips...more if you are the Joker....from Batman 

Method:

Easy Peasy....

Mix the Wet stuff in a Bowl...

Mix the dry stuff in another bowl 

put em together
Add Choc Chips Last

pour into lightly greased pan

cook 1 Hour or till Knife inserted in the middle comes out clean  

• 
  

Nancy's Tabouli Salad:

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

1.	1 Cup Bulgar Wheat	9.	½ Cup Of Chickpeas
2.	1 ½ Cup Boiling Water	10.	½ Cup Scallions
3.	½ tsp Salt	11.	1 Cup Fresh Chopped Parsley
4.	¼ Cup Good Olive Oil	12.	Green Pepper
5.	¼ Cup Fresh Squeezed Lime juice	13.	Cucumber
6.	1 Heaping tsp Fresh Crushed Garlic	14.	2 Medium Tomatoes
7.	Fresh Pepper	15.	½ Cup Grated Carrot
8.	½ tsp dried mint	16.	Nancy Love

RECIPE DIRECTIONS: 

Combine bulgar, boiling water, and salt in a bowl. Cover and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Add Lemon juice, oil, mint, garlic, and chickpeas.  Mix thoroughly, refrigerate for 2-3 hours.  Just before serving add vegetables, mix , and serve.   Enjoy! OH ALSO the last ingredient is very hard to find If you cannot find Nancy love in your local Grocery Mart you may have to forgo the real thing  and add your own love In any event you should not skip this ingredient and NO subbing  a couple TBSP of sugar does not work real love only

SUNDAY night prep & WAYS To Destroy a 'Healthy' Salad:

Sunday evening for me is usually a big time food prep night.
Eating clean is tricky ...when you have a busy life ....who doesnt have a busy life.!!!  Being prepared with healthy pre cooked meals and snacks can be something that will change your eating habits.
SO .....on Sundays I shop for groceries for the week lean meat, clean carbs, and as many colorfull veggies as I can get my hands on.
WHen i get home I start right away.  I cook enough chicken or fish for my dinner meals for 2 - 3 nights. I make a pot of Rice, a pot of Oatmeal, or a pot of Quinoa.  I make a huge salad.  And I CHOP veggies like mad.  Actually I am dreaming about buying a food processor to help with some of this prep.....also a lovely new camera for my fancy blog photo's ...oooh and a new car since mine is old ....maybe a vacation in Mauiiiiii..........oooops .....RIGHT back to the prep talk.....
SO make a veggie bag for each day about 1/2 Cup of each veggie in each bag gives you a colorful snack.  Save all the other veggies pre cut for steaming or whatever in large ziplocks or tupperware.
A great trick to amazing healthy morning omelets is pre cutting an onion, peppers, grating a bit of sharp aged cheddar, and lean turkey breast and storing them each in their own lil baggy.
 Each morning all you will have to do is break out your egg whites add your omelette goodies and heat up a 1/4 cup of oatmeal and you have got yourself a crazy great start to a day of clean eating.

IF you have healthy choices you will find it much easier to stay on track.  No excuses.

One thing  mentioned above that I wanted to talk a bit about is choosing sharp aged white cheddar for cheese.  This type of cheese is very flavorful.  Adding just a bit can give you that flavor you are looking for without destroying an otherwise healthy food choice.
That brings us to another juicy topic
SALAD GONE BAD
When we think of salad as a part of a meal we usually think .....this is a great healthy choice
BUT this can go terribly wrong without you even realizing it.
Almost everyone wants salad dressing ...just adding dressing can make your salad into a really high fat high high calorie meal.....which if you are going to consume this many cals you might as well have ordered the burger that you really wanted in the first place ...I guess
Just being aware is important.  There are many low calorie dressings out there.
Sometimes a squish of lemon or a good sprinkle of balsamic vinegar can be enough
Along with sunday prep i will often make a dressing with flax oil, garlic, lemon juice and other spices using a bit of this adds 'good fats' to your meal making it more complete and very tasty.
IF YOU MUST have the salad dressing that you love that is loaded with bad stuff
opt for putting it on the side of your plate and dip into it rather than pouring way too much onto your greens you will end up using much less.
TOPPINGS like bacon bits or processed meat..... Yikes don't go there !!!!
instead try....
* a bit of feta or other sharp cheese adds a ton of flavor but still keeps the meal in check
* roasted pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews,Pecans, or other nuts can add good fat, flavor and crunch!
* chopped strawberries, bluberries, or citrus fruit like orange or grapefruit is REally yummy
* Adding cooked chicken breast can make your salad a meal !
often when I am digging into my salad with chicken breast I reflect on how great it is....I could eat this meal for ever and never get bored it is so yummy and can be different every time depending on what I add.....
SO
add the good stuff to your salads to keep them interesting and satisfying
forgo the fatty dressing
OH
also
ICe Burg lettuce....
terrible stuff
Buy a box of Greens or baby spinach and boost your vitamin intake
Happy Cooking!!!

Sunday Morning

I really Love breakfast
I love waking up slowly, drinking too much tea and creating something really yummy to eat
Today we got to sleep in ...I can't remember the last time I got to do this...it felt really good and I think I really needed it.  Bodo always wants Pancakes like EVERY morning of his life
SO BOring ...totally a creature of habit ...he sorta gets that from me I guess
BUT this morning I changed it up just a lil bit and made him waffles with a recipe I found the other night  at the library in a Cooks Illustrated mag ...supposto take some of the work out of making waffles...the claim is that you use fizzy water instead of wipping your egg whites to creat puffy yummy waffles...They turned out great..I ACTually did not have fizzy water so I used left over Root beer from the saturday night Bodo Root Beer floats .....Yes ..he is totally spoiled rotten
here is the recipe:

Bodee Boy DDMW Buttermilk Root Beer Waffles:

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 TBSP Sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 Cup Dried Buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Cup Sour Cream (I used Greek Yogurt)
• 2 Lrg Eggs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cup Veg Oil
• 1 1/4 Cup Unflavored seltzer water (ROOT BEER)

In a large Bowl Wisk your flour, sugar, salt, B milk Powder & baking Soda together.

In Another Bowl wisk sour cream, vanilla, oil, and Eggs gently stir in root beer.

CREate a well in your dry ingredients and add your wet

Stir just enough to combine

Make waffles :) The pics are very Boring Bodo doesnt love anything in his waffles or pancakes totally boring but he eats it all up!

Next My Breakfast ...

Wait..... you didnt think I would eat waffles did you! ....

yikes get real where are the vegetables in waffles???? ....

cardinal Rule VEggies with with every meal

So my breakfast is 1 Whole egg with 2 Egg whites ...1/4 Cup Oatmeal with Huckle berries and pumkin seeds, Stevia Ketchup, Steamed Kale, and A Large glorious cup of Black tea WITH Skim milk ...after all it is Sunday a girl deserves Milk in tea on sunday 

Feeling Uninspired

I am feeling pretty un inspired...IN fact I sorta feel like Iv been run over by a truck
my heart hurts
this was a train wreck of a day
filled with clumsiness ... for example I dumped almost a whole cup of coffee down my front on my first break
even a sweater change could not disguise my crappiness
right now I am desperate for a distraction...So I want to cook something good to eat
Bodo gets regular Sushi and I get carb free goodness...sorta hoping good eats will make me feel happy
SO
I am posting a recipe I have already made for my blog before
I switched up the recipe a bit Using Kale as the first ingredient I lay onto the nori then piling everything on top of that, makes for easier rolling.  I popped the kale into the microwave for a couple of seconds on paper towel just to steam it a bit ...works great
then I added a good smear of plain Greek Yogurt, grated carrot, left over BBQ Salmon ....I have to add that this was given to me HOt off the grill by a very generous local fisherman this thursday night... my son and I feasted on an evening that I just did not want to cook sO grateful for this gift....now it is leftovers put to work in another meal. Also Avocado, and cucumber.  I paired this up with Some AmaZING tabouli that my soul sister Nanstance made.
It was part of a work potluck dish ....she didnt even work that day ...so she brought food and left cause she is pretty much the sweetest person ever.  Consequently she was not there to take her leftovers home...so since it would not have survived the weekend in the staff fridge I scooped it.  I will post her recipe on monday if she gives me the ok.
SO a very pretty dinner to feed my tummy
gifted soul food
hopefully will feed my soul
and heal my heart

Humous Chicken Burger On Homemade Rice Cake Bun:

Using some of the Rice Cakes I made last week and froze in the freezer I made this tasty Chicken Burger.  I toasted the Rice cakes to defrost them and make them Crispy
added the Fixins and Voila Yummy

Bodee Boy Dream Bars:

Recipe from Hollyhock Cook Book:

Crust:

1 Cup Unbleached White Flour

1/2 Cup Soft Butter

2 TBSP Brown SUgar:

Topping:

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Rolled Oats

1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut

1/2 Cup Raisins

1/2 Cup Chopped Almonds (I also added Sesame Seeds)

1/2 Cup Choc Chips

3 Eggs Beaten 

1 Tsp Vanilla

Preheat Oven to 350

1. In a small bowl fork to combine the crust ingredients and press the mixture into the bottom of a lightly oiled, 8 " square or round baking dish, bake for 15 mins.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine all the topping ingredients and mix them well.  Pour over the partially baked crust and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Bodo Boy Loves These Big time!

Ashie Girl Rice Cakes:

Since Gregory sez I only make things for the blog so I can suggest putting Peanut Butter on them .....I created Rice cakes from scratch.
I LOVE rice cakes but the healthy ones I want to eat are not cheap so I figured why the heck can't I make em from scratch so I went into my fridge and just made them with what I had.
I think you could make them with just rice and a bit of oatmeal (important because the oatmeal is very sticky) but these ones have a combination of Equal parts Cooked Brown rice, Cooked Barley, and Cooked Oatmeal.  This makes it easy because you can make as much or as little as you want ...or you can just use up the left over rice and oatmeal in your fridge!
I suggest squishing it together with your hands and kneading until it combines.
NEXT add a bit of salt and enough rice flour to bind it into something that looks like dough.
Roll it out using rice flour so that it doesnt stick to your work surface or your roller.
roll as thin as you can.  Use a cooky cutter or something to cut the cakes out with ...I used a mason jar ring....made perfect sized circles :) scoop off work surface with a large spatula.
Put onto a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Broil on high for 7 - 10 mins
YUMMY WITH PEANUT BUTTER !

Ingredients (again):

• Equal parts Cooked Rice, Barley, Oatmeal
• tsp salt
• Brown Rice Flour

Low Carb Gremlin Pumpkin Pie:

Despite the name I have given this re invented pumpkin pie, I actually think it is pretty good.  A cup of black tea and a chunk of this with a good smear of PB is pretty dreamy
 
Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Vanilla Protein Powder
• 1 Cup Oat Bran 
• 1/4 Cup to 1/2 Cup Pure Pumpkin Pie Puree
• 1 Cup Liquid Egg White
• 1/2 Cup Hot Water
• 1 Tbsp each Baking Powder & Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Stevia powder

Directions:

Preheat Oven ti 375 degrees.  Spray a loaf pan with nonstick baking Spray.  Combine all ingredients.  Powder into baking pan, bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean....the 2 tsp of Stevia ACtuallY turns it THAT green
Green is good

Oats vs Oat Bran AND the important of Nutrient timing

Nutritionally speaking, oat bran has more fiber and protein than oat flakes. While a 1/2 cup serving of oats has 4 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein, the same serving size of oat bran has 9 grams of fiber and about 10 grams of protein. Both have the same amount of fat and calories.


Add 1 TBSP of Oat Bran to your smoothy for a boost of added protein and fiber that acts as a thickening agent creating great texture.  As well oats are a low glycemic slow burning carb (thats the kind we are after ;) that will help keep you feeling full for longer.  THIS IS Great post workout food ....which brings us to the nutrient timing ..... 
One of the biggest mistakes people make is ignoring post workout nutrition 
Food timing is essential to maximize post workout muscle recovery.  During this time most of the ingested energy (carbs and protein) will go to replenish depleted muscle energy stores and to aid recovery.
Think of it this way.  If you were to eat 100 g of Carbohydrates for lunch and 50 g were to end up in muscle stores to promote recovery and 50 g were to end up in fat stores making you fatter, I dont think you would find your body composition would be improving much.  BUT if you were to save those 100 g of carbs until after you exercised, all those carbs would go to muscle recovery with none of them going to fat cells ...so which scenario do you think changes your body.  THis recovery period lasts about 6 hours post workout.
IMPORTANT !!!....what I am NOT saying here is to avoid carbs during all other meals of the day cause that is CRazy..your carbs are your most efficient fuel source for your muscles AND your brain.  If you do not eat enough carbs or get enough rest your body will be diminished leaving you feeling tired and unable to preform in or out of the gym.
WHAT I am saying is that you should minimize carb intake during most meals of the day and feed your body the bulk of your carb intake during the 6 hour post workout recovery period.
ALso equally important to post workout recovery is protein.  Amino acids and mineral found in protein are necessary for muscular development. 
POst workout Nutrition should include protein and carbohydrates in the ratio of 2 grams of carbs to every 1 g of protein.
Build your other meals during the day around lean protein sources with lots of colourful veggies and enough carbs to keep you satisfied.  I use oatmeal, brown rice, and yams as needed.  depending how I feel mood and energy wise depicts how much carbs I eat.  Every body is different and everybody's life demands are different.  Going low carb just isn't the answer.  just try and remember nutrient timing and what it can do for you.  Using it as a guide might make you see some changes that you have been working so hard for in the gym.  Diet  and equally as important Nutrient timing makes up a huge part of the picture and is essential to your success!