I definitely enjoy certain foods now that I used to shy away from. I either A. thought it was too healthy, b. thought it was gross or c. I just plain old didn't know how to cook it. As I've embarked on this clean eating lifestyle, everything has changed. My taste palates have changed, my idea of what's healthy and tasty has changed and my confidence in the kitchen has grown. I eat and cook foods now that I never would have done a few years ago. I wouldn't have thought twice about buying Pillsbury cookies or having frozen dinners in my house as quick meal. Now, I much rather put in the work and have fresh homemade food. It's tastier, healthier and I can control what goes in my mouth. I can't go back to my old eating habits, even if I tried. Knowing what I know about where my food comes from has been the biggest game changer for me. It has helped bring me to this point in my life where I can honestly say I am the happiest I've ever been with myself and my life, almost twenty nine years later. It has been truly something that I have wanted for myself for a very long time. Feeling good about what I put in my body has made an impact on my physical and mental health. There is a story that most people don't know about me that I'm not quite ready to share. I will sit down and write a long post about it and how I overcame some of the most difficult obstacles in my life. Please be patient with me for that post.
On that note, I had spaghetti squash, eggplant, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and onion in my house over the weekend. What's a girl to do with all of that? Made spaghetti and eggplant sauce! It was SOOO good. The only two things that I am made about was A. I can't post any pictures on my blog at this point. This is due to needing an adapter to upload my pictures to my computer. B. It was gone within a few days since it was SO good. I wanted more!
What I love about this recipe is that it's healthy and tasty. It reminds me of plain regular spaghetti and sauce that I used to eat all the time. This meal is easy to make within forty minutes with simple ingredients. I like that it is vegetarian meal. I also love the fact that all of the ingredients are really cheap to buy in the store. Without further ado, here is the delicious recipe!
Spaghetti Squash with Eggplant Sauce
1 Spaghetti Squash
1 Eggplant
1/2 Red Onion
Olive Oil
1 Jar Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
Fresh Parsley
Salt and Pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. In a roasting pan, place the squash on a rack. Pour water on the bottom of the pan so it is there is an inch of water. Roast squash until tender, about 30-35 minutes.
2. In the meantime, in a large pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, place diced onion in pan. Sautee until onions are slightly soft.
3. After onions are soften, put eggplant in pan. Sautee until eggplant starts to soften.
4. Pour jar of crushed tomatoes and two tablespoons of tomato paste in pan. Stir. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Add parsley. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are soften.
5. Once squash has finished roasting, pull out and let cool for a few minutes. Then you will take a large fork and pull the squash out. It will look like spaghetti.
6. Once squash is out of it's shell, combine the sauce with the squash.
7. Add parsley over the spaghetti squash with eggplant sauce and serve.
I've been sick the past few days. I even had to call in sick for work which I do not like to do. I simply do not have time to be sick! *note to whoever got me sick, I'm very mad at you! Although I honestly think it is the constant in and out of the cold weather at my morning job that is doing me in. It does wear on the body after awhile.
So the past few days I've had a sore throat, cough, congestion and a fever. I don't really like taking medication because if I don't fill my body up with artificial coloring and chemicals. If I avoid that kind of stuff when I'm healthy then why would I do it when I'm sick? My eventual goal for 2013 is to have alternative medicine in my medicine cabinet instead of your typical Nyquil arsenal. Have you seen the ingredient list for that? It's full of food coloring and chemicals. I wish I saved the last bottle so I could list the ingredients for you. If you look it up online, it just lists the active ingredients. Not all the other chemicals in it, blah! Check it out next time you are in the store or even if it's in your medicine cabinet now. Don't say I didn't tell you so. I should let you know I'm not anti modern medication. There is a place and time for it. If you are truly sick and no alternative medication is helping, get yourself to a doctor or the hospital.
I just wanted to list a few things that I found that really actually helped me over the past few days. It reduced my symptoms greatly and I got to avoid going to the doctor! It was quick stuff I was able to grab and make over the weekend. I'm curious to hear what my readers also do when they are sick. I know there's a lot more but here are the things that I did this weekend.
1. I drank warm water with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. It helps with congestion. It helps drains the sinuses after a cold has set in. Apple cider vinegar has many different health benefits. This is just one of them.
2. STEAM! We all remember mom telling us to have the humidifier (thanks mom for buying me one!) That and a hot bath. It helps clears the sinuses. Ever wonder why anytime you eat something hot or take a hot shower, your nose starts to drip? That's why.
3. 1 tablespoon of honey and some cinnamon mixed up for 3 days. Both contain anti bacterial, anti fungal and anti viral properties. This helps knock out the colds right away.
4. Gargle warm salt water. It helps relieve the pain in the throat for a short while. (I know it helped reduce my pain greatly!)
5. Chicken Soup. I had made some the other week in my slow cooker overnight when I had a sore throat. It made me feel SO much better. I did the same thing this weekend. I threw in some carrots, celery, chicken and homemade chicken stock. There's a reason mama's chicken soup always did the trick. It helps the immune system with the inflammation and it also helps clears the mucus up.
These are some of the things I had done this past weekend. What are some of your tricks to get yourself back on the mend? I'd love to hear.
P.S Also thinking of changing the colors of my layouts so it is easier to read, thoughts?
sources:
http://blog.integrativenutrition.com/2013/02/7-natural-cold-remedies-to-help-you-survive-winter
http://fatalfacts.com/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F1308-facts-on-honey-and-cinnamon-it-is-found-that-a-mixture-of-honey-and-cinnamon-cures-most-diseases%2F
http://www.healthhomehappy.com/2010/09/honey-and-cinnamon-a-simple-cold-home-remedy-that-kids-love.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cold-remedies/ID00036
The first time I made this meal was for Christmas dinner. I needed a vegetarian dish for my aunt. It ended up being a hit with everyone at the table. My 92 year old grandma took seconds and then said "if no one else is having anymore, I'll just take the rest home." That is definitely how you know it was a hit. The only thing that I wish I had more of, was the vegetables. So when I made it tonight, I doubled the vegetables and it came out perfect!
What I love about this recipe is that it truly showcases winter root vegetables. Until I changed my diet, I always ate the vegetables I liked at anytime of the year. Now I focus on eating seasonally and local. This is exactly why I like this recipe. I also like this recipe because it's a vegetarian dish. I've significantly reduced my meat consumption. This dish fills you up without wanting more or missing anything. I won't keep you waiting any longer, here is the adapted recipe from Vegetarian Times, November 2012
Roasted Winter Vegetable Jambalaya (Adapted from Vegetarian Times, Nov 2012)
1 cup long grain brown rice
4 carrots, diced
4 parsnips, diced
1large sweet potato, diced
3-4 Yukon gold potatoes, diced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoon tomato paste
3 cups low sodium vegetable broth - (you may add more if needed)
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes (I used Eden)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Directions
1. soak rice in bowl overnight. (very important you soak otherwise they won't cook properly)
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, Drain rice, coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. Toss together carrots, parsnips, potatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil (you may need more to coat) and salt in bowl. Spread on baking sheet and roast 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are browned.
4. Combine onion, remaining olive oil, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper and salt in skillet. Heat over med-low heat until onions are soft. (5-8 minutes) Add rice and cook 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir in tomato paste, broth and chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat.
5. Stir roasted vegetables into rice mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low. Cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper (if desired). Serve hot or room temperature.
**Pictures will come as soon as I can figure out how to upload pictures on my new computer! Thanks for your patience.
It's been about two months since my last post and WOW a lot has happened. I truly apologize to my readers for the lack of new food recipes and posts. There was however magic in the kitchen. There just wasn't any time to sit and write the posts. However, Snowstorm Nemo has given me that time.
Here is an update on my life. I cooked an amazing gluten free Christmas dinner. I made gluten free stuffed rolled pork loin, roasted winter vegetable vegetarian jambalaya and carrot soufflé. (My brother in law is allergic to gluten, dairy and eggs) Everything that I had made, he was able to eat, except the carrot soufflé. That was a request made by his wife, my sister. (Recipes will be posted shortly). During Christmas break, there was a lot of family illness and a death. A lot of family time, I'm ok with that. I have the type of the family that is always there for each other. This was a time where we needed each other. I also got to close a major chapter in my life. My ex boyfriend officially picked up the rest of his things in the middle of the month. That was a relief. I also got a full time job. It is a temporary project which ends by the end of the year. It will give me extra money to get some things done such as getting my clinical license. I am still working as a therapist at my other job. SO what does this mean, well, it means I'm working 12-14 hour days for 5 days a week. I'm working a bit on Saturday too. I started at the beginning of January. Hence why I've been a bit MIA for the past month and half. This does entail tons of menu planning, stress management, time management and planning ahead. After all, anyone that knows me, knows I'm all about taking care of myself. So before I started this job, I planned. I planned out "me" time. What are the things I consider necessary for my sanity? Well it includes eating healthy, exercise and downtime. I had done a cleanse that was a two week meal plan supported by two nutritionists as a kick start. Honestly, it was great, I'm glad I signed up for it. It was gluten free, dairy free and nut free. This meant I was drinking almond milk and coconut milk. It wasn't bad for me as I usually eat clean anyway. What I did find out after the two week cleanse, I am officially gluten intolerant. I can not handle it even in small amounts. Boo. :( However, my health has never been better. I've never looked or felt better. However, I'll get to that later on.
I usually hate to plan ahead but honestly, if I didn't plan, I'd be very stressed and frazzled. A stressed and frazzled Suzanne, does not make for a happy person. While I do have a lot of balls up in the air, I am making sure there aren't too many in the air either. I've set several goals for myself this year. I'm not quite ready to share them with the public yet. I need to refine them a bit. However, I am determined to achieve them. This requires a lot of time management and stress management, the two critical skills needed at a time like this.
I'll start with stress management because it's something that I really work with in my practice. It is something I strongly believe that more people need to focus on this aspect in their life. Several things that are in my box are surfing of course, cooking, workouts, reading, baths, playing with my mom's puppies, arts and crafts, writing, naps and just pure doing nothing. There's more that I want to get into but these are just a handful of things that truly bring me to my zen place. However with my time, I don't have enough time to do all of that on a regular basis. I do however make sure I do something at least for a half hour to an hour daily for myself. With my schedule, on a daily basis, I have been exercising and reading. On the weekends, I catch up on my TV shows, I play with the puppies, arts and crafts and my spa day. I also spend a whole day cooking my meals for the week.
This is where time management comes in. Working 12-14 hour days is killer. However, I do not like to just work all day, where does the "me" time come in then? Since my job is outdoors during the day, I do my workouts at night when I come home. It actually is pretty good because I listen to music and just wind down. This is helpful because my second job is only five minutes away from my house. I NEED that wind down time. I also take showers at night so my hair isn't cold and wet for those cold days outdoors. Honestly, during the week, this is the only thing I really get to do for myself. Well that, and take a nap during lunch. Yes, you read that correctly. I have a blanket and pillow in my car. I go in, take off my hearing aid and implant and just turn off the world for an hour. It's nice to be deaf sometimes. :)
My weekends however are another story. Saturday is reserved for work and errands. I do all my menu planning, grocery shopping, laundry and what not. Anything that requires me to leave the house, I do. Sunday, I bulk cook for the week. This REALLY frees up my time for the week. I can just grab and go. I'm not stressed about meals, ending up with something that's not good for me, or spending money I don't want to. Plus, I get to ensure I'm eating all gluten free, clean eating food. :) What more can this gal want? I also clean my apartment, do my bills and anything around the house that day that I want and need to do. Sunday is my pamper day. :) I also don't get out of my pajamas and into my car at all that day. That my friend, is my downtime day.
I do have a list of things to accomplish during the week which does help me stay on task. Lists are your friend during busy times like this. Grocery lists, to do lists, menu planning, goals, work out plans. Thank god I got a new computer for Christmas! Thanks Mom! Anyway I hope this leaves you with some ideas and suggestions for time management. I also hope this stresses the importance of planning ahead. I will be doing a menu planning post within the next few weeks. Any questions or suggestions, leave them on here or on the facebook page.
P.S Spring and summer needs to come so I can get my butt out there surfing and do the ultimate stress reliever for me. Ah. :)
I have a ton of sweet potatoes in my apartment again! I had every intention of making them this weekend so that I could have them throughout the week. Plus I wanted the measurements for you. However, I've been at my mom's house since Saturday helping with Christmas stuff and her puppies. I also had my staff holiday party on Saturday night! I'm still at her house! However, I really want to post this recipe so I'm just going to post it. :) Later this week I'll make the recipe. Then I will edit the measurements and post the picture of the potatoes. At least for now, you will have the ingredients. It's all really to taste anyway. Anyway, on to the post!
First thing first, they DO NOT taste anything like the sweet potato fries one would order at a restaurant. They are not fried for one. They are baked. I got the idea the last time I received way too many sweet potatoes in my CSA. One can only eat baked sweet potato for so long before they get bored. Only thing was, I just threw together some spices hoping it would taste good. I also wanted to try using turmeric on some of my food since it has a lot of great benefits for you. Good thing for me, it came out delicious. Bad thing was, I didn't measure or write it down exactly what I used.
Turmeric is good for many reasons. It aids in digestion and detoxification. Turmeric helps reduce gas and bloating. It's been known to reduce blood sugar and cholesterol. Turmeric is also a natural anti-inflammatory and can help with arthritis. (http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-turmeric.html is the main source I referenced. I also read several other articles and books that indicated similar information about turmeric. In fact a lot of spices and herbs do provide health benefits. That's why there's the great saying by Hippocrates, let health be thy food. I feel that we are only just beginning to really understand the importance of flavoring our foods. Does anyone experiment with flavors? Any specific reason you use that spice or herb? Is it just pure flavor or is there a health reason? I'd be interested to know!
Sweet Potato Fries
Olive Oil
Sweet Potato
Cinnamon
Turmeric
Nutmeg
Ginger
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Chop up the sweet potatoes in any size you like. (I don't peel my sweet potatoes because who has the time to do all of that! They are also bigger then your typical fry in the restaurant. :) Hey, what can I say, a girl likes her potatoes! Just make sure whatever size you do cut the potatoes, they are all uniform in size otherwise they will not cook evenly)
3. Cover the potatoes in olive oil
4. Throw the potatoes in bowl with the dry ingredients and cover
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Depending on how strong your oven is. (Mine is not a great stove so I need longer sometimes). You can taste the tenderness by sticking a toothpick in it.
Sometimes I love the cold weather and other times I do not. Cold weather involves tons of warm hearty meals such as chili, stew, lasagna, pastas, all things that I do not usually cook a lot during warm weather. Also, all things I avoided last year because I was such a newbie in clean eating. These were all traditional meals that I had growing up and made once I went off on my own. I was terrified of changing some of them due to losing the taste. There is A LOT to change in some of these recipes. This fall/winter, I plan on tackling them. I will also be introducing a lot of new recipes as well. I hope to share with you as the season progresses.
This recipe I am about to share is a recipe I have used for more then 5-6 years since it came out. I read it in Shape magazine, specifically the "Make over your body in 21 days" issue. (You can locate the original recipe on the Shape website.) Since then I have made some modifications to it. I use fresh ingredients instead of canned. It is still yummy and tasty if not better. This is my go to chili. Quick, simple and tasty. Does anyone have a favorite chili recipe? Please share in the comment section below.
Firehouse Turkey Chili - (Adapted from Shape magazine) Serves 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large garlic clove, smashed
1/2 cup chopped scallions, divided
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 28 oz crushed tomatoes. (I also use 7-8 fresh tomatoes crushed when in season)
1 15 oz of kidney beans. (You can also use the can - I use fresh and I soak them the night before)
1 medium red pepper - diced
1 cup diced carrot
pinch of salt
sour cream
Directions:
1. Prep all ingredients in separate dishes
2. In large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat until hot. Toss in garlic and all but 2 tablespoons scallion and cook, Stir frequently for 1 minute
3. Add turkey and continue to cook, break up the meat with a wooden spoon. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until turkey is browned
4. Stir in chili powder and cook for 1 minute
5. Add tomatoes, kidney beans, bell peppers, carrots and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Divide among four bowls and garnish with the remaining scallions. Top with sour cream if desired.
**I do not have a picture of this recipe on hand. Next time I make it, I'll post a picture. Trust me on this recipe. It's good! My mother requests it all the time.
Before I write this post, I must apologize for the long gap in posts. I live on Long Island where we recently have been hit by Hurricane Sandy. No gas, no power, no work. Things were crazy. I was lucky enough to have my power. However, my mother was displaced and was staying with me for about three weeks. I have gone back with her to her place in the past week due to Thanksgiving. She also got a new dog so she wanted my help with helping the dog adjust. In that time, I also had some personal issues going on as well. I do not feel the need to share them in a public forum. Just know, there's been a lot going on. As I write this, I am writing from my mother's computer.
Well today is the Monday after Thanksgiving, I had meant to write a running post, planning post and a pre-holiday prep post in the past month. Needless to say, that went out the window. I have been in the meantime, getting ideas and being somewhat creative with my recipes. If you have food sensitivities, I highly recommend getting and reading Living Without magazine. There are two versions, one is just gluten free and the other is gluten free and dairy free. I also have been reading the Vegetarian Times magazine. I just love vegetables and fruit. There are so many ideas that are so refreshing these days. I was not a big fan of new foods when I was a child. These days, I love rediscovering foods from when I was little. Have you recently rediscovered any foods from when you were little? Any new twists on them this time around? For example, I rediscovered brussel sprouts. While I did like them when I was little, they were not among my favorite. This time around, I discovered if I roast them, I adore them. This makes for a happy Suzanne.
Holidays, usually my favorite and most dreaded time of the year. (I'll save the dreaded part for another day and another post.) I have a rather large family on my mother's side. While she only has one brother, she has a ton of cousins. Both her parents had 8-9 siblings. Most of them had children and so forth. On my grandfather's side, there are a lot of cousins and we are all really close. We don't even consider the degrees of separation most of the time. Yes that is how close we are and no I would not trade it for a thing. I love my cousins. Growing up around this time, my grandparents would come up from Florida and off we go visiting everyone. That is just how it was. I adored it. Things have changed a lot since they passed away and my sister has been at vet. school. However, it doesn't mean I can't get together with my cousins. Which I do try to do somewhat.
Holiday time brings back memories of TONS of Italian food. Christmas eve was at my Aunt's house with the 7 fishes as the Italians usually have. I also always had my favorite, my grandmother's potato pancakes. Last year around this time, I had just started my clean eating ways in the beginning of the fall. It was my first holiday trying to be a clean eater among other things. Some parts of it went ok, some parts of it was not. What I did learn was the holidays are a matter of balance. I also recognized that as long as I only eat like this one or two days of the year, I'll be ok. BALANCE is the key. This year I made some more of my own sides and plan to do the same thing for Christmas. Since Thanksgiving was my mother, sister and I, I was able to make requests for certain things such as an organic Turkey, real butter, things like that. My contributions to Thanksgiving was my butternut squash soup and carrot souffle. If any of you hosted Thanksgiving, what did you serve? If you brought sides, what did you bring?
What do the holidays bring for you? How do you do meal time? Anything in specific you HAVE to have?? Do you stick to your clean eating and work out routines? What are your plans to survive the next month or so? Any new year resolutions coming up? Any questions, concerns or ideas, please send them my way as I will be addressing these issues in upcoming posts.
Thank you for your patience in the past month. Regular posting will resume now. Lets all get through the holidays happy and healthy.
"Life, like surfing is all about wave selection and balance. Never let the best waves in life go by" - unknown
