So Far So Good!

So far so good on day 2 of the "21 days of eating Healthy" challenge! I do post as I cook each of the three meals a day, unless I am eating leftovers from the day before. I had the soup I made yesterday for lunch today after my 5k, which tasted great (again) I decided to add a little nutmeg to it and it gave it a nice nuttiness (not sure if that is a word)  Tonight's dinner was spent with family in Clinton.  After we were done helping Maureen and Andrew move into their new home, they treated us to a great dinner at Chips Restaurant.  I had the Gardenburger on toasted wheat bread with sweet potatoe fries (I know, the fries are pushing it a little, but at least they were sweet potatoes - and they were GREAT!) The gardenburger was fabulous as well.  Thanks Maureen and Andrew!

Sautéed Mushroom and Roasted Pepper over Toast

Well I had planned to reheat the oatmeal I made for breakfast yesterday for this morning's breakfast, but John ate it. I had to scrounge around the fridge and I came up with this concoction. It was yum!


Handful of sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced jarred roasted red pepper
1 Tbsp of Hummus (I used a southwestern flavored hummus I purchased at the store)
1 toasted sliced of whole wheat bread
1 Tbsp olive oil

• Heat olive oil over medium heat in small pan
• Add mushrooms and peppers and heat until mushrooms release their juices, about 5 minutes
• Remove from heat and let sit
• Toast the wheat bread
• spread hummus on the toast, and spill mushrooms and peppers over the top.

Spiced Chickpea and Tomato Soup with Roasted Peppers

Boy did this hit the spot on this raw, cold day. It's based on an old Martha Stewart recipe that I altered a bit.  This recipe serves 4

3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp ground coriander (tip - if you don't have ground, just grind the seeds in your coffee grinder)
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1/8 tsp caraway seeds
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups crushed canned tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup drained, jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
Spoonful of Greek yogurt per serving
1 Tbsp chopped parsely for each serving

• Using back of a spoon, crush garlic, salt, coriander, and caraway to form a paste.
• Heat oil in a large sauce pan (I use dutch oven) over hight heat. Add garlic mixture and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. You will LOVE the aroma!
• Stir in Chickpeas, tomatoes, red peppers, and stock. 
• Simmer, stirring often, for about 15 minutes
• If you have a hand blender (a must have if you make a lot of soups I say) then start blending the soup right in the pot until you get a nice smooth and creamy texture.  If you don't have a hand blender, then puree soup in batches in a food processer. Do small batches so you don't have accidents. return pureed soup to saucepan and reheat as necessary.
• Divide among serving bowls. Add chopped parsley and  greek yogurt to each bowl.

Sherbrooke Inspired; Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal with Molasses

I don't think that I've had Molasses since I was a young girl sitting at my Grandma Noonan's lunch table in Sherbrooke, Quebec. When I tasted it before putting into my recipe, it brought back those early childhood holiday lunches. She used to serve it with bread and we dipped the bread into a small bowl of molasses. Mom, if you are reading this, help me out - am I remembering correctly?

This little bowl of Oatmeal hit the spot this morning. All natural ingredients.

2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup rolled oats (not instant oatmeal)
1 tsp Molasses
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
small handful of raisins

• Boil the water and salt
• Add the oats and cook on med for 10-20 minutes (I like the texture of my oats at about 12 minutes, I like them a little chewy, not mushy)
• Remove from heat and add the Molasses, Cinnamon, and raisins, stir to combine
• Cover and let sit for a few minutes

Side note, my oatmeal came out perfect this morning, but if yours comes out too thick and you need to add liquid to thin it out a bit, I would use Almond Milk because I am trying to limit my use of dairy products. Dairy products tend to make me bloated. I use Almond milk in place of milk in all of my cereals, and in a number of other recipes as well.

This roller coaster ride is KILLING me!!

Okay, this is it. I need to figure out a way to stop this sugar/no sugar roller coaster. I'll go a few weeks eating really healthy and then BOOM! I'll cave in and stuff myself with gigantuous amounts of sugar - mostly in the form of cookies and chocolate. I just finished said binge over the last two days. I'm going to figure this out! All advice is welcome!

In the meantime, I'm back on the health kick (at least for the next few weeks) and I welcome you along for the ride (if you so dare). So, over the next 21 days (minus Thanksgiving day) I'll blog about my food concoctions that will be heavily focused toward recipes that are very low on processed foods and dairy, and very high on veggies, fruits, and whole grains. When I eat this way, I feel great!

Chocolate Almond Milk Shake

This is a delicious, lighter, and healthier alternative to the classic chocolate milkshake.  I came up with it one night when i was having one of my chocolate cravings!  It tastes like a light and airy chocolate shake, but doesn't have all of the fat that the traditional one does.  Try it!

Pour 2 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk into blender
Add Two tablespoons of Hershey's chocolate syrup
Add a few icecubes
blend in blender until smooth
pour into glass and drink up!  Its soooo good and is under 200 calories!

Taboule and Hummus Pita

I'm trying to stay below 1400 calories/day for the next few weeks to hit a weight loss goal.  This was a tasty sandwich I thought up today for only 180 calories:

stuff a whole wheat pita with 2 tablespoons of Taboule and 2 tablespoons of hummus (I used scallion flavored hummus)

It hit the spot!